A Stick-To-Your-Ribs Recipe For a Snow Day

    First it was a snow storm.  Next came an ice storm.  Winter has been showing its teeth the past  few weeks. (No surprise!  It is the middle of winter and I do live in the northeast!)

  As a result,  I have been digging into my recipe box for some hearty one-dish meals to warm us after an afternoon of shoveling.

We are blessed to have one of the daughters and her family staying with us for a few months while they wait for their new home to be ready.  It was hard at first for me to remember how to cook for more than two people, but I'm getting the hang of it.  Making soup is always a sure bet! And I've been making buckets and buckets of it! Delicious. Nutritious. And enough to feed an army!

This recipe is perfect for a wintry day. It has just enough meat in it to add lots of flavor and to satisfy the carnivores, but it is also loaded with healthy veggies and beans.  The Italians call it Pasta Fagioli.  I call it delicious!

PASTA FAGIOLI

3 tsp. olive oil

6 oz. canadian bacon  or cooked ham

3 onions

5 carrots

4 stalks celery

3 cloves of garlic

28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes

4 cups stock or water stock or water

2 15 oz cans cannellini beans

1 bay leaf

1&1/2 tsp rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup pasta 9uncooked)

Parmigiano cheese (rind)

Heat the oil add chopped veggies, garlic, chopped ham and saute for about 5-8 minutes.  Add bay leaf, rosemary and cook another 1-2 minutes.  Add all  the other ingredients except the pasta. Cook for about 30 minutes.  Season with lots of black pepper and salt if needed.  Remove rind and cut into small pieces and return it to the soup.  Before serving, cook pasta al dente and add to the soup pot.  Serve with grated cheese and a good loaf of Italian bread.

So while the snow and freezing rain were pelting down outside, we enjoyed the view from a nice warm porch while scarfing down big bowls of warm soup and watching our six month old grandson scarf down his oatmeal!

It went so fast, I didn't have time to take a photo - of the soup or the oatmeal!

Time For A Big Pot of Soup!

  The weather is turning, inevitably, to bluster. The skies and the weathermen are threatening us with the white stuff.  If you are getting ready for Christmas, then you are probably busy.

    This is the perfect time to make a big pot of soup to warm our bellies the first night and  then warm my heart in a few days when I can pull out the leftovers for a quick meal on a night when I am too busy to cook.

    I like to eat lightly in the weeks before Christmas, both because it is Advent and because I know that no matter how hard I try, a few pounds will show up on the scale come January 2nd!  A comforting vegetarian soup fills us up but doesn't feel decadent, like all the foods we will eat when the family descends.

    This may be my new favorite black bean recipe! It was quick and easy and the flavors are perfect to warm a cold wintery night.

                                  Black Bean Vegetable Stew

1 Tbs. olive or canola oil
1 large onion , chopped
1-3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1-2 tsp chili powder (to taste)
2 -3 tsp ground cumin
2 cans black beans (15 oz)
1 can kidney beans
1 can of Red Pack tomatoes (28 oz)
28 oz. vegetable stock or water
1 cup frozen corn
salt and pepper to taste
1 -2 cups chopped kale (optional)
fresh cilantro and sour cream for garnish

Saute the onions, carrots, red pepper and garlic in the oil for a few minutes on medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or soup pot.  Add cumin and chili powder. Cook for one minute.  Blend the can of tomatoes and the drained can of kidney beans in the blender with the stock.  Add to the vegetable mixture.  Add the drained black beans and cook for 10 minutes.  Add corn and kale and cook for  another 4-5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve topped with a spoonful of sour cream or plain yogurt and fresh cilantro.  The leftovers freeze well.

I love this soup with corn bread and my favorite cornbread recipe is an oldie but a goodie from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook (the original)

Mexican Corn and Cheese Bread

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 cup yellow corn meal

1 egg lightly beaten

2 Tbs. honey

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese

Saute the onion in the olive oil.  Mix the flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt together in a small bowl. Beat the egg, milk and honey together. Combine the milk mixture and the flour mixture and mix until well blended. Add corn, sauteed onions and grated cheese.  Spread into a well buttered 8 inch square pan,  bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is firm and browned. Serve warm.  Freezes well!

Enjoy!

Grains as Salad

    On the dinner tables of my childhood, the starch was almost always potatoes!  That was pretty much it for us.  The variety came only in how the potatoes were prepared.

    My mother  mashed them,  boiled them, roasted them,  baked  them with the skins on, fried them  and occasionally,  scalloped them with milk and onions.  On rare occasions we had white rice instead of potatoes or a large bowl of spaghetti with Italian bread.

  I don't remember ever being bored with dinner as a child, but I was delighted, when, as a newlywed, I discovered  couscous, wild rice, tabbouleh,  quinoa and other grains.

   I added this recipe called Asian Rice Salad to my repertoire early on and have found it very useful and delicious.

   In winter, it satisfies my husband's craving for salad and my craving for a change of pace.  It is also a great dish to serve to  vegetarians since it is high in protein.  I have made this without all of the ingredients on hand, using whatever I had but I usually don't tinker with the dressing!

Asian Rice Salad                                         

2 cups of cooked, cooled  brown rice
1/2 c raisins
chopped scallions
1 red pepper chopped
1-2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 c sliced water chestnuts
1/2 c bean sprouts
1/2 c raw snow peas
1/2 c pineapple chunks
1/4 c cashews
1/4 c toasted sesame seeds
1/4 c toasted (unsweetened) shredded coconut
chopped  fresh parsley

Dressing:
1/2 c orange juice
1/2 c canola oil
1-2 Tbs sesame oil
3-4 Tbs soy sauce
juice of 1 lemon
2-3 TBS dry sherry
minced fresh garlic
minced fresh ginger root
salt and pepper to taste

  Combine all ingredients and serve over greens.

This is delicious  served at room temperature with broiled boneless chicken breasts that have been marinated in soy sauce and lemon juice for an hour or two.

The next time I make this, I think I'll try using quinoa instead of the rice.

For 33 Shades of Green 'Tasty Tuesdays' where you can find loads of delicious recipes every week!!

The Mother of All Soups

    Long ago, when I was fresh out of nursing school, I  began  to develop the recipe I am going to share with you today.  I worked in an ICU and was caring for an elderly Jewish  man whose wife came faithfully everyday with a small tupperware jar of food for him.  It was usually chicken soup.  She insisted that her homemade chicken soup was instrumental in his recovery and dismissed the  efforts of the doctors and nurses as tangential.

    One day I asked her why she revered chicken soup as a panacea.  She shared her recipe with me which was similar to my mother's but contained carrots, something my mother did not use.  I mentioned this and she exclaimed,"Oh good chicken soup MUST have carrots in it.  They are part of the medicine." She added,"and don't skim off the fat. Leave it in ."

   Several years later, I found myself in a similar circumstance.  This time the tiny older woman was Italian and in sharing HER recipe with me, she said, "Don't forget to use lots of garlic.  That is the most important ingredient."

  Sometime later, I read a newspaper article with a variety of ethnic recipes for chicken soup.  It revealed what I had begun to suspect.  Everywhere in the world there were women making some version of chicken soup for healing purposes.

  The Asian recipe called ginger , the Indian, for  hot chili pepper.   In Greece, the addition of lemon juice is essential.  Everyone, it seems, uses onions and a variety of other vegetables and a grain or starch like barley, rice or noodles ...oh and lots of salt!

   My own mother, whose mother was Irish, added thyme and rosemary, sage  and a bay leaf.

    A careful reading of any herbal will reveal what all of these women the world over knew in their feminine bones.  Ginger, garlic, thyme, bay, sage and  hot pepper are among the herbs that warm the body, chase away germs, are anti-inflammatory and anti viral and/or bacterial.  In other words, healing and soothing.

Every Mother's Chicken Soup

Take a whole, cleaned chicken , place in a large soup pot, cover with water (about 6-7 cups), add a bay leaf, a drop or two of vinegar and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for an hour or so until the chicken begins to fall apart.  Remove the chicken and all bones etc from the broth and let cool. 

 While it cools, cut up lots of garlic, ginger, onions, carrots, celery and red pepper. You can roast the cut up veggies, saute them briefly or add them to the pot directly, your choice.  

Add  the following herbs and spices to taste(I tend to use  large amounts of these ingredients)  sage, thyme, rosemary, cayenne pepper,  black pepper and salt. Reheat the soup and cook for about 10 minutes until vegetables are just cooked.  Puree about 3 or 4 cups of the mixture and return it to the pot.

 Remove all the bones, skin and non-meat parts of the chicken and add the meat back into the soup.  Adjust seasoning, especially salt.  This soup requires more salt than I normally use in a recipe. Remove bay leaf.  

  Prior to serving, choose your grain (barley, rice or noodles) and cook according to directions, adding it to the soup when you serve it.  


   After observing the magical  effect of this soup for many years, I've come to recognize that the true healing ingredient is love.  That is the one essential thing  mothers and caregivers everywhere add to their soup!  Oh, and don't forget to freeze a batch in case the cook gets sick.  It will be ready to heat!

  


  

Time for a Make-Over and Other Bits and Pieces

  I haven't been posting so much this month but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing.  I did a bit of a make-over on the design of the blog, as you can see. I changed the color scheme , going for a wintery white, clean look.  I couldn't resist putting some veggies in the back round though, just because....I like them!

    The most important change I've made is to the sidebars.  I peruse many blogs on a variety of topics and, to make it easier to do some blog-hopping, I divided them into categories.  So feel free to check out some of my favorites.  I plan to add more, as I find new ones that I enjoy.

    Since I don't do TV,   reading has become my leisure 'vice.'  I read everything........ recipes, book reviews, poetry, prayers, articles about health and wellness, fiction  etc, etc. and  many  blogs offer  nourishment for me.   I am especially fond of poetry sites and you will find many of those on the sidebar.

    Recently, I've been writing poems - lots of them!   This gives me a sense of peace, a feeling of accomplishment, and, if nothing else,  a wonderful hobby to pass the winter months, as I wait for my garden to reawaken.  In a word, writing poetry fills me with joy! Perhaps one day, I will let you into my poetry garden!

<<>>

translating 

one moment at a time

into poetry

<<>>

  Yesterday  I went to visit my almost-bed-bound mother.   I brought her some fruit compote along with  her weekly groceries. She loves sweets and is especially fond of this compote which she says "keeps things moving." Her memory fades with each passing week and  she has stopped trying to keep track of her life.

<<<>>>

old mama

she's forgotten everything

except her children

<<<>>>

     When I got in the car to come home, I spotted the car-seat we installed for my grandson and the irony of that hit me over the head.   I am certainly a member of the 'sandwich generation.'

<<<>>>

a little boy says

'amma, tell me everything

about the universe'

<<<>>>

   I feel  blessed to have my mother still with us and a young grandson to keep me on my toes. He still thinks Pappa and I know 'everything' about the universe!   Very soon, I suspect,  he will know infinitely more than we do.  Right now, we can still answer most of his questions.  He is coming to visit us for a 'sleep-over' this weekend. That means I have to put my running shoes on to keep up with him.  The good news is,  he'll probably love the fruit compote too!!  Here's the recipe.

Fruit Compote

1/2 lb dried apricots

1/2 lb dried prunes

1/2 lb raisins

1 stick of cinnamon

1 piece of ginger chopped

1 apple cut up

water to cover

Cook on a low flame for about 1 hour until all the fruit softens.

Thought for Today:  Every moment can be turned into joy, if not poetry.

Sharing with Rebecca and friends at Recuerda Mi CorazonRecuerda Mi Corazon Haiku My Heart

    

Christmas Bread

   OK, I admit it, I was never the cookie mom when my kids were small.  They knew better than to ask me to bake for the class.  It just wasn't my thing. 

 But I could bake a mean loaf of bread and this particular recipe became a family favorite.  I've been making this bread at Christmastime for as long as any of us can remember.

 Where the original came from is lost to history. I have this written on an index card with enough wear and tear on it to have come from the Civil War, except for the fact that it is written in ball-point pen!

Bread making is a somewhat lengthy process and requires some skill in working with the amazing qualities of the living organism known as yeast.  I admit to having made several brick-like loaves before  I got the hang of it.  This is one of the easiest, most fool-proof recipes I've used and it is delicious!

  There are two parts to the recipe, the basic ingredients and the special add-ons which flavor the bread in various ways.  

   Here's how I do it:

 *** Gather the ingredients and start the bread early in the day.

 ***Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add it to 1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats in a large bowl.  Add 2 TBS of butter, 2 & 1/2  tsp of salt and 1/2 cup of honey or molasses.  Let this sit for 1/2 hour.

 *** Add 2 packages of yeast to 1/3 cup of lukewarm water. let this sit for 5-10 minutes.

 ***Add the yeast to the oat mixture and stir.

 ***Add the special ingredients if using.
Choose one:
   * 1 cup of raisins and 1-2 tsp of cinnamon
   * 2 tsp rubbed sage,2 tsp caraway seeds, 1 tsp marjoram
   * 1/4 tsp thyme, 2 tsp summer savory,  1/2 tsp dried parsley, 1 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp anise seed
   * 3/4 cup of citron
   *or use 1/2 cup of orange marmalade and only 1/4 cup of molasses.

 Now you are ready to add the flour.  You need about 6 cups of flour give or take a 1/2 cup.  I use  half whole wheat and half white flour.  Stir in the first four cups of flour, mixing with a spoon. Add the last 2 cups of flour a little at a time and begin mixing with your hands once you can't stir anymore.  Keep adding the flour and kneading as you go.  As soon as the dough becomes sticky, add more flour.

Keep kneading.

Eventually(after about 10 to 15 minutes of kneading) the dough will take up all the flour and begin to have a slight sheen to it.   Kind of velvety.  That's when you've kneaded enough and you are ready to let the dough rise. Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm spot . In 1& 1/2 to 2 hours the dough will go from this:

 To this:

Now punch it down, divide in half and form 2 loaves.  Cover again and let rise for about 1 hour.

 When the loaves are peeking over the side of the pan they are ready to be baked at 325 about 4 inches from the bottom of the oven for about 40 to 50 minutes.

When they come out of the oven take the loaves out of the pans and place on a cooling rack.  Paint the top of the hot bread with butter to make the crust shiny and resist the temptation to devour the entire loaf before it cools a bit!

This recipe, depending on which 'special ingredients you choose, can be perfect with a cup of afternoon tea or as an accompaniment to a turkey dinner, or  for making a sandwich of leftover turkey.   I try to always have the cinnamon raisin loaf for our breakfast on Christmas morning. Toasted heaven!

Some hints for successful bread-making:
           ** Check the date on the yeast package to make sure it is fresh.
          ** Yeast needs lukewarm water to begin to work its magic.  Not too hot please!
          ** Yeast rises best in a warm kitchen free of drafts.  I usually put my dough into a (cold) oven with a pan of hot water under it.  This seems to be a perfect environment for the dough to rise.  Replenish the hot water as it cools.
           ** Don't be afraid to knead, knead, knead.  The flour has to break down for the bread to rise properly and the kneading promotes that.
   
Thought for today :  There are few aromas more wonderful than baking bread.  It seems to fill the house with love!
         
         

I Need a Little Comfort (Food)

         Exactly what does the expression 'comfort food' mean?  For me, it means the feeling of warmth and kindness of loving arms surrounding me in times of pain and stress.  Often that feeling is associated with childhood and a loving parent who nurtured and nourished.

         When I need a bit of TLC,  I make soup!  And cold weather is a clarion call to my maternal instincts that it is time to pull out the cook books and the soup pot.

         One of our long time favorites is Lentil Soup.  I have a number of good recipes but always return to my dog-eared copy of 'Moosewood Cookbook' for Mollie Katzen's original recipe.  My cookbook is falling apart at this point but it has my notes in the margins and many years of cooking splatters on it representing a lifetime of cooking from scratch for my family.

     Here's the recipe with some modifications I've made over the years.  It's a tried and true winner!

          Lentil Soup

Simmer 3 cups of dried lentils in 7 cups of water or stock for 3-4 hours.  Add salt to taste. (1-2 tsp).  Saute the following in olive oil:  2-3 cloves of garlic,1 cup of minced onions, 1 cup of chopped celery and 1 cup of chopped carrots.  Add the vegetables to the lentils after they have simmered for 3-4 hours.  Add 1 large can of chopped tomatoes in puree (28 oz),  a splash or two of dry red wine, 2 Tbs of lemon juice, 2 Tbs of molasses or brown sugar and a splash of red wine vinegar. Sometimes I add a few potatoes or pasta although it is delicious without the starch too.  

Add thyme and oregano OR basil and lots of crushed black pepper.  Continue cooking for 15 to 30 minutes. (If adding pasta, don't add the pasta too soon - follow package directions for timing)  Taste to adjust seasonings.

  

Garnish with chopped scallions and sprinkle with more vinegar before serving.

 I prefer the  vegetarian version of this recipe but  occasionally add some chopped Canadian bacon or leftover ham if the carnivore is restless. 

Today's Take-away -  Some 'comfort food" is both nutritious AND self-soothing.

Fresh and Refresh

***********

fresh

Swiss chard cut today

sauteed with garlic and oil

garnished with cayenne

*********

refresh

a breeze whistles through

a darker bronze dogwood

after the rain storm

***********

Shared with SENSATIONAL HAIKU WEDNESDAY   The prompt is fresh. 

Still in the Garden

    September days, so mild and  breezy and  bathed in the sweet light of the equinox, call me to stay in the garden. The herbs are still growing, begging to be brought inside and preserved, one way or another.  I am still picking and drying my favorites for cooking and brewing teas during the darker days ahead.

    My favorite tea for winter is named "Cold and Flu Tea," and everyone who tastes it,  loves it. It is my go-to brew at the first sign of a cold.  Truth be told, almost any tea will make you feel better if you are getting a cold!  That said,  herbal teas have a long, revered history of improving health and allaying symptoms.  The herbs work in different ways to make you feel better.  It seems to me that if I drink this tea, I feel better sooner!  And there is evidence that elderberry is an immune-system booster, enabling your body to fight off the nasty little viruses that cause colds.

   I use several herbs that I grow and a few that I am unable to grow but can purchase from an on-line purveyor of organic, fair-trade herbs and spices.

  My recipe is made with 1 part of each herb unless otherwise noted.  I blend together a large quantity of the dried  blended herbs so it is ready when I need to brew a cup of TLC. (the ginger root is not added until I am ready to make the pot of tea)

   Cold and Flu Tea

                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                        Lemongrass                                            Lemon Verbena

                        Lemon Balm                                           Hyssop Leaves

                        Nettles                                                   Red Raspberry leaves

                        Peppermint                                             Hibiscus

                        Nettles                                                   Ginger Root

                         Elderberry flowers                                 Rose Hips

  Here's how I brew it:  Take a one inch piece of ginger and slice it.  In a quart  size pot, bring one quart of water and the ginger to a boil, lower and  simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add 4 tablespoons of the herb mixture to the water and steep for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add honey or stevia and sip until you feel better.

Herbs DO have medicinal properties  and while all of these herbs are generally considered safe, it is always good to check with your doctor if you are on medications or are pregnant, before ingesting herbs.


  Take away for today:  Tea is good for what ails you!

First Taste of Autumn

     The Golden Earthworm CSA box was filled with an assortment of winter  squash this week.  Last night I made a delicious side dish out of a lovely acorn squash and lucky for me, there was enough left over for lunch today.  Sorry, there is  no picture of the cooked squash, I was so hungry I ate first and wrote later!

    Here's the recipe:  Wash and cut the squash in half.  Scoop out the seeds and coat with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Place on a cookie sheet in a 375 oven and bake for about 30 minutes.  While the squash bakes,  cook 1/2 cup of brown rice in 1 cup of salted water or broth with a teaspoon of olive oil.  When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup of muenster(or cheddar) cheese,  salt and pepper to taste, re-cover  the pot until cheese melts.   Spoon rice mixture into the squash "cups" and bake another 10 minutes.

    I served this with pesto- coated salmon and steamed broccoli  for dinner last night.

   This morning  I was alternatively absorbed in paying some bills  and  meditating on my latest haiku effort. Suddenly I noticed  ravenous hunger!  Lunch time had slipped by and my stomach was protesting.     I heated the leftover squash in the microwave and had autumn comfort food for  lunch!!


Thought for today:  New season!  New flavors!

Bottled Summer

  Making herbal vinegars and thus preserving some of the best but most elusive flavors of summer, is one of my favorite activities.  Late August into early September is the best time for this.

Favorite books for vinegar recipes:

Herbal Treasures by Phyllis Saudys

Flavored Oils and Vinegars by Ann Kleinberg

The Good Herb byJudith Benn Hurley






     After  buying several bottles of vinegar, ( mostly white wine vinegar ) and gathering  my favorite recipes from years past and a few new ones to try out, I'm ready to pick my herbs and prepare some herbal vinegars for use throughout the winter months.

     I usually use my old Mason jars to extract the flavors from the leaves, washing them first thing in the morning in the dishwasher so they will be dry when I'm ready to use them.

Herb gathering is best done mid-morning

 



 A trip to the garden to get handfuls of the healthiest looking leaves for each recipe and I'm ready to go.  I wash the leaves and dry them well with paper towels, then leave them under a ceiling fan for an hour  or so.









  Next I chop the herbs  and place them in the jar, heat the vinegar( in stainless steel) just until it starts to bubble, cool it slightly,  then pour it over the herbs.  Once cool, I put some plastic wrap over the top and cover with the lids, find a cool, dark place and let the vinegar work its alchemy.  I leave the jars for a few days to a few weeks, shaking them every day or so, making sure the herbs stay below the level of the vinegar.

Each vinegar turns a slightly different color, depending on the herbs.

    Once I am happy with the flavor, I strain out the herbs and pour the vinegar into bottles,(often I wash and thoroughly dry the bottles the vinegar came in and use them,)  label them and I'm ready for a splash of summer whenever I need it!

   Some books recommend putting a fresh snippet of herb into the bottle, mostly for looks, but I don't do that because I don't like fishing it out when the vinegar level gets lower than the sprig of herb.

   Here are my favorite herbal combinations, all are with white wine vinegar unless otherwise noted:

  ** Basil, garlic, cayenne peppers.
      This has lots of kick and works well with a good olive oil to perk up a winter salad or when a soup recipe calls for vinegar.

  ** Garlic chives  and nasturtium flowers and leaves.
       More delicate than the vinegar above but with some kick.  Garlic flavor is subtle.
     
  ** Cilantro, jalapeno peppers, garlic, lime peel.
       This is a new one I concocted this year and I'm planning to use it to add some zip to a  black bean salad or black bean soup during the winter, when cilantro and jalapenos are scarce.

  ** Raspberries - delicious, especially on fruit salads.

  **  Lemon peel, lemon verbena, lemon balm, lemon basil, lemon thyme.
       This is my go-to vinegar when I need lemon and there is no lemon in my refrigerator!  It always works for me.


  **  Fennel, mint.
      This smells wonderful.  It's the first time I've made this but I think it will be wonderful on a Waldorf salad or a carrot salad.

  **  Balsamic vinegar, rosemary, garlic.
       Add some olive oil, some more garlic, black pepper and more rosemary to this vinegar and marinate chicken breasts in it for a few hours, then grill.  Delicious.

  **  Red wine vinegar, oregano and garlic.
       Good with any Italian dish, especially antipasto.



  ** Bonus medicinal cider vinegar : Hyssop, thyme, sage and  lavender.
       I also  made a medicinal honey with the same herbs in it and am planning to mix the cider vinegar with the honey when I get a sore throat during the winter, which is often. (I remember my mother giving us honey and lemon by the teaspoon when we had sore throats.) These herbs are soothing to the throat  and said to be expectorant. Cider vinegar is full of minerals and said to be healthful on its own, so adding herbs can only improve its medicinal qualities!

  Although I store the vinegars at room temperature, I am planning to keep the honey in the refrigerator since it doesn't have the acidity of vinegar.  I use all my vinegars within 8 to 10 months.

Thought for today :  Making herbal vinegars in August can bring a splash of summer flavor to a cold winter night.

   

Black Bean Salad Tweaked! And A Dessert to Placate the Carnivore

Black Bean  Quinoa Salad with Tomato Salsa

                                                                  THE MAIN EVENT

  I had a delicious Black Bean Salad recently, made by The Teacher (AKA the Third Daughter.).  It had corn in it, a vegetable I love, but which does not return my affection.  I decided to tweak the recipe and turn it into a main course, to eat on  a hot August evening.  I wanted  to use some of the wildly juicy and delicious tomatoes, some sweet onion and green peppers I am getting in my CSA box every week. We  also have a bumper crop of jalapeno peppers in the  herb garden this year and there was even  handful of cilantro ready to be picked.   Perfect!

Here's my recipe, adapted from the Teacher's recipe.  (Quinoa, an ancient nut-like grain, added to  black beans becomes a complete protein.)

*Cook  3/4 cup of quinoa, letting it cool completely.

*Mix 2 cans of drained black beans with 2 tbs of red wine vinegar, some chopped onion, chopped jalapenos (I used 2)  and 3 chopped green peppers.

* Add cooled quinoa.  Mix in the following dressing:  1/3 c olive oil and the juice of 2 limes, 1 tsp. of ground cumin,  salt and  pepper to taste. Chill.

*  Make this  salsa just before serving:  Chop fresh red and yellow tomatoes, garlic, some onion, a jalapeno pepper, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.  Squeeze on lots of lime juice and mix well.  Serve black bean salad topped with salsa.



                                                            AND FOR DESSERT

Peach Cobbler

               What do you do with 3 pounds of peaches all ripening on the same day?   Make Peach Cobbler, of course!

**Melt 1 stick of butter in a 9x13 oven pan.

** Combine 1 cup of flour(I use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour) with 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 1 cup of brown sugar  and a pinch of salt. Add 1 cup of milk (I use soy milk) and stir until moistened. Add to the melted butter in the 9x13 pan but do not stir.

** Slice 4-6 large peaches and place in a sauce pan with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of  agave and a squeeze or two of lemon juice.  Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes.

** Pour peach mixture onto batter, without stirring.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and bake in a 375 oven for 40 -50 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

  I am experimenting with using agave as a substitute for some of the sugar in recipes.  It is purported to be lower glycemic than sugar and since it is sweeter, you can use less.  If you don't have it you can use 1 cup of sugar instead.


THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  AUGUST BRINGS A BOUNTY OF FRESH FOODS TO ENJOY









  

Farm Fresh Treats for Breakfast

  Today, it's all about the goodness and bounty from the August garden, both my own small plot and the Golden Earthworm  offerings in my CSA box this week.  I get my vegetables from the Golden Earthworm Organic Farm in Jamesport . My fruit share comes from Briermere Farms.

   I have breakfast on my mind ! I'm allergic to eggs so  it's easy to become bored with breakfast.  When I need a change from cereal and fruit, I turn to these two recipes to mix it up a bit in the morning.

   Since I've been craving mint  all summer  and I discovered a patch of it in a dark corner of my yard, probably planted there by the garden fairies when we weren't looking, I've been harvesting and drying( and using )  it like crazy, adding it to everything.

  Here are two alternatives to eggs or cereal for breakfast.

                                Minted Peach  Smoothie

                 6 oz. to 8 oz. of  plain yogurt

                 1 juicy ripe peach

                 2 tbs. nuts (pecans are good)

                 4-6 ice cubes

                 fresh mint leaves to taste (5 or 6)

                 cinnamon

                 stevia as needed

                                      Blend together until smooth. Garnish with more

cinnamon and a sprig of mint.  Drink.

       

                                      Tofu Tomato Scrambler

     

        olive oil

        1 14 0z package of extra firm organic tofu

        1 large tomato, chopped

        1 onion

        2 jalapeno peppers

        1 red or green pepper

        2 tsp ground cumin

        1-2 tsp turmeric

        1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
OR a handful of mint leaves, chopped.

       lower sodium soy sauce

        3 0z. extra sharp cheddar cheese, cubed

        black pepper

Saute the onion, jalapenos, sweet pepper, cumin and turmeric in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes.

  Squeeze the water out of the tofu, crumble it and add to the pan with about 2 teaspoons of soy sauce.  Cook for a minute or two,  mixing ingredients thoroughly. 

    Add tomatoes, cheese and basil or mint.  Cover pan and cook for another minute or two until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

 Add crushed black pepper to taste. This recipe makes enough for about 4-5 servings.  It keeps well and is easy to reheat.

        

Great for lunch too!

Variations on a theme:

      * Use celery or fennel instead of the pepper

      * Omit the jalapeno  and basil, add oregano and cayenne powder

      * Use feta instead of cheddar and add baby spinach with the basil

  In other words, experiment!

Thought for Today -  The harvest is indeed a gift from God and it's not necessary to wait until Thanksgiving to say 'thank you.'
       





                                       
               

Did Someone Say Zucchini?

    Here comes the zucchini!  Last week I received 5 good sized zucchini squashes in my Golden Earthworm CSA box and two days later, my generous neighbor left 4 equally healthy looking zucchinis on my stoop.

It's an embarrassment of green squash. A plethora of zucca.  The quintessential mid-summer glut. And I just picked up this  week's share  a few minutes ago.  Guess what?  More zucchini!

But what is the point of all these veggies, if not to eat them when they are just off the vine. So I set out to find ways to slip those little green  devils into my recipes.

Here are three fast and easy ways to use zucchini.  As the summer wears on I plan to hunt up an old pickle recipe that is buried in my recipe box.  As I recall, it was easy and worked for zucchini and cukes.  For now, this is what we are eating:

Greek Potato Zucchini Bake

This recipe is strictly seat-of-the -pants peasant food.  I made it up as I went along.  I scrubbed and sliced 2 good sized potatoes , 2 zucchini  and  an onion. Doused them with olive oil then layered them in my favorite souffle pan. Potatoes, squash,  onions.  Sprinkle with fresh basil, hot pepper flakes, and lots of  feta cheese.   Then do it again.  Top with  chopped tomato, lots of fresh basil, and kalamata olives, pitted.

Bake in the oven on 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Cool slightly and serve in wedges.  (We ate the leftovers cold for breakfast the next day.)

Add a salad and call it dinner!

Italian Style Zucchini Side Dish

Ingredients :

     Olive oil

     Zucchini

           Tomatoes

      Garlic

       Onions

         Oregano

                                 Salt and pepper to taste

                                 Romano Cheese, grated

Toss all ingredients into the foil, seal and put on the grill for about 15 minutes.

Put this on the grill with  chicken and baked potatoes - no pots to clean!

Pasta With Green Squash, White Beans and Fried Sage

Quickly saute the sliced zucchini with lots of garlic, onions and hot pepper flakes to taste in olive oil.  Add a can of white or cannellini beans and cook for another minute.  Go out to the garden and pick about 20 large sage leaves or buy them fresh in the market.  (Do not use dried)  

Cook pasta al dente and add it to the pan with the zucchini. Add some white wine. Mix well and reheat.  

Fry the sage leaves in a separate pan in olive oil until crispy.  Crumble over the pasta.

Frying the  sage gives  a very different flavor to this dish, not at all like the familiar Thanksgiving stuffing flavor. It can also be used to garnish soups and just about anything else.   Try it!   

We had lots of leftovers for a lunch the next day

Garden Sage

Experiment with new ways to use up all that zucchini!  Do you have a  favorite recipe for this ubiquitous summer veggie?  If so, I invite you to share it in the comments section  below.  Thank you!

Hibiscus Zinger , the Porch and a Stack of Books

  The temperature is climbing faster than the pole beans and  I'm ready to settle down for a long summer spell with a pitcher of my favorite herbal iced tea and a stack of books in a nice old-fashioned porch chair, feet up and nothing to do but read.

Hibiscus Zinger

  For me, summer vacation means delicious free time to indulge my passion for a good book.  I used to read voraciously as a child, burning the midnight flashlight to finish 'one more chapter, Mom, one more page.'  Now I read slowly, savoring the language, like sipping  fine wine.  I stop often to daydream about faraway places and distant times.

  My current stack of books includes 'Handling Sin' by Michael Malone, a fat summer read if ever there was one.  So far, it's hilarious and I'm enjoying accompanying Raleigh Hayes as he tries to find his eccentric and possibly senile father who escaped from the local hospital and took off in a yellow Cadillac convertible.  Dad is leading his son on a wild , if irreverent , chase across the South.

The Porch

  I will start 'Still Alice'  by Lisa Genova for my August book club meeting in a week or two, a novel about a professor who is diagnosed with early Alzheimers.

  Next is 'Tree Smoke', by Denis Johnson,  a novel about Vietnam, which I've been wanting to read for a while.  It's another chubby book, my favorite kind for the long days of summer.

 I am also working my way through 'An Interior Castle', by St Teresa of Avila.   I came across a reference to this book in 'The Marriage Plot,'  which I just finished for July's book club meeting , and I am interested in learning more about St. Teresa, so I downloaded it onto my Nook.  

  If it stays too hot to weed , I may finish all of these books by August!

      My favorite iced tea, 'Hibiscus Zinger', contains equal amounts of  the following herbs:

                                      * Lemon Verbena
                                      * Lemon Grass
                                      * Lemon Balm
                                      * Peppermint
                                         Raspberry Leaves
                                         Rose Hips
                                         Hibiscus Flowers
                                         Juice of one half of a  lemon or a lime
                                         Stevia to sweeten

The * herbs are the ones I  grow. The others I  purchase in bulk, although I have collected rose hips in the wild.

I blend the teas in large quantities and store them in Mason jars.    To make a pitcher of tea, I  use  8 heaping teaspoonfuls(in a muslin tea bag) to 4 cups of boiling water, steep for 15 minutes, then add the warm tea to 4 or 5 cups of ice. This makes about 8 glasses of iced tea.

Dried, blended teas

Summer Bliss - a cool spot, a frosty drink and a good book.





 
     

Spring Pasta Primavera

Beet greens and chopped aspargus

It's a challenge to incorporate all those spring greens in the CSA box into recipes, especially if you didn't grow up eating them.    Last week I made this wonderful  (and easy) pasta dish using beet greens, asparagus and garlic scapes.

Garlic Scapes

Other  greens like escarole, collards, kale, broccoli rabe  and spinach can be used with or in place of the beet greens.

Quick saute in olive oil

Cook paste as directed on the box.  While pasta cooks, chop asparagus into 1 inch pieces.  Clean and chop beet greens. Cut up garlic scapes or use garlic if you don't have any scapes.  Saute asparagus and garlic or scapes for 2 minutes and add beet greens. Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes until wilted.  Add 3 or 4 tablespoons of pesto (I make pesto every year in September and freeze it in ice cube trays, then bag it for use all winter.)  Alternatively, use store bought pesto.  Add pepper and salt to taste.  Add a tablespoon or two of pasta water.
Drain pasta and add to the pan with the veggies and mix well.

Angel Hair  Primavera with Beet Greens and Asparagus

 Garnish with fresh basil leaves and  serve with grated Romano or Parmesean cheese.  Both the asparagus and the beet greens were very mild flavored, as are the garlic scapes.  The dish was soothing and quite satisfying.

Delicious can be nutritious too!