Holiday Magic

The Big D and I don't have a lot of holiday traditions. We've tried to get some over the years, but nothing has really stuck. That's usually because we are traveling somewhere and it's the sort of traveling that takes us away from our respective families and our everyday lives. We did this in the past because by combining vacation days with holidays, D could get bigger chunks of time off. Also, when I was at the University, winter holidays were the best time for me to get away without causing disruption for my students.

Now we've got a little one on the way and I'm wondering what sorts of things do I want her to grow up with. I remember one year D and I went to a pumpkin patch where I discovered pie pumpkins. Before that I had no idea that pies could come from the pumpkin. Well, let me restate that - I had no idea how easily pies could come from pumpkins.



That year I struggled a bit with roasting each pumpkin half, cooling and mashing to a consistency fit for pie. I was in graduate school and I remember thinking about the word "epistemology" while the pie was baking. Later, it felt like every time I took a bit of that pie, I questioned everything that I knew, how I knew it and how it was I came to know what I knew. A few days later I wrote up the recipe for the MacArthur newsletter (the generous program that funded my doctorate education) and cautioned everyone about what they filled their brains with while preparing and baking pie.

This year I steamed the pumpkin and used my immersion blender and everything went together smooth and easy.



I got so excited to eat it that I almost forgot to take a picture!

Now, this is what I think of as holiday magic. Pumpkin pie from a pumpkin.



And, I'm thinking this might be a good tradition to start for our little family.


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It's simple recipe that can be found here. I did just one pie and used 2/3rd of the recipe. I also used a little bit less sugar.

Om Pot Pie

This recipe is such a treat, a hearty meal on a cool Autumn night. My version is a curried version, but I have also done it with Western spices such as oregano and basil. I use the store-bought piecrusts to cut down on prep time, and the leftover scraps of dough to make the pretty OM on top of the pie. The ingredients are measured loosely and generously, with produce picked based on what is in season. I use a can of cream soup, cream of mushroom this time.

I used the CSA butternut squash for this pie. It was the first time using this vegetable. I've seen so many others using squash in such creative ways, that I thought I'd give it shot here in the pot pie. I also used CSA potatoes and carrots. I have lots of these vegetables in the house.

Pies, whether they are fruit pies or pot pies, always taste better when made with love.

Om Pot Pie
(this recipe is just a approximation of what I do. I use whatever is on hand and smell my way through the spices)

Steam potatoes, carrots, and squash.

Heat 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil in large saute pan.
Throw in 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds.
Once the seeds start start popping add 1/2 tsp of each (ground) spice; smell after adding each spice and add more if your nose says so:
cumin, garam masala, turmeric, hing (asafoetida), cinnamon.
Add minced onion and garlic, cook until soft.
Add cooked chicken (optional; this pie can be done vegetarian).
Add steamed vegetables.
Add i can of cream soup. Or make a roux.
Bring to a simmer.

Fill pie crust and top with second crust.

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 50 minutes, or until puffed up and bubbly looking.

Butternut Bisque

I've got lots of squash. My mother has gone away for a month so I have the CSA all to myself for the next month. And oh, man, oh man, the squash is piling up.



I found this recipe for butternut bisque a few years ago and it was appealing to me because there were directions for freezing the leftovers. Unfortunately, I never got around to eating the leftovers because they went into hiding in the very back corner of my (surprisingly small) freezer. Anyway, so this year the plan is to share with my neighbor and it's kind of payback because he brought me a whole sack of honeycrisp apples from the orchard/pumpkin patch he went to a few weeks ago.



I went into a sort of a cooking frenzy on Sunday. The Big D was working on the second coat of paint for our dining room and I was feeling the need to stay away from this one. I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen making the bisque, some cornbread and later, roasting a chicken. The paint, by the way, is fabulous! It was a $5 Oops paint and I swear I never would have picked a color like this on my own, but it was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. And, it turned out so incredibly wonderful. It even makes the kitchen paint debacle look a bit better. Man, never again will I paint during a Mercury retrograde!



The bisque is such a lovely shade of orange. I kept thinking Baby is going to love this cuz of the color and the creaminess. I got to pull out my immersion blender to mash all the cooked squash.




The cornbread. My first attempt at it from scratch. I've always done mixes, ones recommended by others who swear by them, but have never liked them as much I wanted to. This one turned out wonderful and I even whipped up some honey butter for spread.




I had to show the image again because I think the color is so beautiful!

Butternut Bisque (adapted from Everyday Foods)

3 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2-4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more for garnish (optional)
course salt
1 large butternut squash (about 4 lbs.), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 can (14.5 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
1 cup half-and-half
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
sour cream, for serving

1. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onion, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and cayenne. Season with salt, cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add squash, broth, half-and-half, and 3 cups of water. Bring to boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Blend in blender (in batches) or use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt. Serve bisque with sour cream, garnished with cayenne, if desired.

Swiss Chard

I'd never eaten Swiss Chard until I started with the CSA. I think it is one of the most beautiful of all the greens. I had no idea that there were so many vitamins and nutrients in chard. This site calls Swiss Chard the "valedictorian" of greens because it's so packed full of good stuff.

Swiss chard is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin E and dietary fiber. It is a very good source of copper, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 and protein. In addition, Swiss chard is a good source of phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid.

There are so many health benefits and the site where the quote is from gives a detailed list. Swiss Chard was originally grown in the Mediterranean region and has been eaten as early as the fourth century B.C. I have heard the Greek Isles have the largest number of centenarians and that is largely due to the greens being a main part of their diet. I can see why now that I know more about all that is in chard.

I tried a Swiss Chard Gratin recipe thinking I would use most of the chard. But I only used half and now that I know of all the health benefits I am excited to have another serving of this super food. I doubled the recipe and so, we ended up with lots and lots of leftovers. I'm not a big fan of gratins, but this one I liked so I'm glad to have the leftovers.



As I was cleaning and chopping the chard, I was struck by the vivid and varied colors of the stems. I cooked this up Friday night and for the rest of the weekend, I spotted these colors all over the region. Even though chard is available throughout most of the summer, this batch has imprinted this green in my mind as a Autumn treat because of the Autumn colors in the stems.

Yummy and beautiful! What a great combination!

Use the rice cooker much?

It seems that lately I'm all about the appliances. Maybe because I painted my kitchen over Labor Day and during the prep process, I cleaned out some of my shelves and put smaller appliances in a visible area. It got cold and I started up my slow cooker. I will be using my immersion blender when I prepare the butternut squash bisque.



In between the two sizes of my slow cookers is the rice cooker in which I've only made rice. And, funny enough, not even basmati rice because for some reason I'm better at this on the stove. Someone said to me once before I owned a rice cooker "What kind of Asian are you that you don't own a rice cooker?" All I could think of in response was "I'm the kind that makes good rice without a rice cooker." And to this day, I still can't make basmati rice in the infallible, ever-perfect rice cooker. Cooking basmati is just in my genes, my muscle memory, perhaps. And almost always includes running into my kitchen to turn off the rice because each and every time I forget I have it on the stove. But, regardless of all the running, sometime from the backyard, I'm not kidding, it always turn out perfect. But, I digress. [And, I'm still not liking the yellow on the kitchen walls.]

Anyway, I do cook other rice that I'm not very familiar with, that is why I eventually did buy a rice cooker, a small one (a 3-cup), only $10 from Wallgreens. That's right. $10! Just the right price for me. It has two settings: cook and warm.

The other night I was cruising around cyberia and stumbled upon this book which intrigued the heck out of me: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook. And, wouldn't you know it, my library had it! I went and picked it up and it opened my eyes to the possibilities of cooking with my rice cooker. Now, I'm not talking about cooking dinner although there seem to be plenty of people who do this. I was thinking this would be a great way to cook up a hot lunch without taking too much time to cook up that hot lunch.

Today, I tried it. I had some leftover CSA vegetable that I needed to use because I'm picking up another box tonight. I chopped up the little bell peppers, broccoli, bok choy and (non-CSA) mushrooms. Threw in some brown rice, some sesame oil and soy sauce and it all cooked up in about 40 minutes.



Truthfully, it wasn't nearly as good as last night's food fantasy. I'm not ready to give up yet.

Here's some stuff I found on the web:
Robert Ebert: The pot and how to use it.
Recipezaar's Rice recipes
NY Times: Making Meals in a Rice Cooker
Teczcape: an escape to food: Bibimbop

It's the last one that sparked a lot of food fantasies last night. Gotta make up some bulgogi!

Anyone out there, reading this, who's used their rice cooker for more than just rice? Anyway? Hello? Tell me about it, please, and help me make my dreams come true. Or at the very least, help me make my lunch more interesting.

Use the rice cooker much?

It seems that lately I'm all about the appliances. Maybe because I painted my kitchen over Labor Day and during the prep process, I cleaned out some of my shelves and put smaller appliances in a visible area. It got cold and I started up my slow cooker. I will be using my immersion blender when I prepare the butternut squash bisque.



In between the two sizes of my slow cookers is the rice cooker in which I've only made rice. And, funny enough, not even basmati rice because for some reason I'm better at this on the stove. Someone said to me once before I owned a rice cooker "What kind of Asian are you that you don't own a rice cooker?" All I could think of in response was "I'm the kind that makes good rice without a rice cooker." And to this day, I still can't make basmati rice in the infallible, ever-perfect rice cooker. Cooking basmati is just in my genes, my muscle memory, perhaps. And almost always includes running into my kitchen to turn off the rice because each and every time I forget I have it on the stove. But, regardless of all the running, sometime from the backyard, I'm not kidding, it always turn out perfect. But, I digress. [And, I'm still not liking the yellow on the kitchen walls.]

Anyway, I do cook other rice that I'm not very familiar with, that is why I eventually did buy a rice cooker, a small one (a 3-cup), only $10 from Wallgreens. That's right. $10! Just the right price for me. It has two settings: cook and warm.

The other night I was cruising around cyberia and stumbled upon this book which intrigued the heck out of me: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook. And, wouldn't you know it, my library had it! I went and picked it up and it opened my eyes to the possibilities of cooking with my rice cooker. Now, I'm not talking about cooking dinner although there seem to be plenty of people who do this. I was thinking this would be a great way to cook up a hot lunch without taking too much time to cook up that hot lunch.

Today, I tried it. I had some leftover CSA vegetable that I needed to use because I'm picking up another box tonight. I chopped up the little bell peppers, broccoli, bok choy and (non-CSA) mushrooms. Threw in some brown rice, some sesame oil and soy sauce and it all cooked up in about 40 minutes.



Truthfully, it wasn't nearly as good as last night's food fantasy. I'm not ready to give up yet.

Here's some stuff I found on the web:
Robert Ebert: The pot and how to use it.
Recipezaar's Rice recipes
NY Times: Making Meals in a Rice Cooker
Teczcape: an escape to food: Bibimbop

It's the last one that sparked a lot of food fantasies last night. Gotta make up some bulgogi!

Anyone out there, reading this, who's used their rice cooker for more than just rice? Anyway? Hello? Tell me about it, please, and help me make my dreams come true. Or at the very least, help me make my lunch more interesting.

Love and the Slow Cooker

My mother did not have a slow cooker when I was growing up. I grew up with certain fantasies about "American" food. Bacon, stews, mac-n-cheese, sandwiches: these were not things that were prepared in my mother's kitchen. Along with fantasies about "American" food, I also had fantasies about "American" cooking. I imagined an easy domestic lifestyle full of microwaves and slow cookers. By the time I got a microwave and slow cooker, I had no idea what to do with them. I mostly use the timer on my microwave. I never understood how people could actually cook with a microwave.

But, the slow cooker was different. I never knew, until recently, that slow cookers have a bad reputation amongst certain crowds. A bad reputation that comes with an association with canned goods and cheap cuts of meat, bland overcooked tastes and lazy cooking habits. I never knew because immediately after I got my slow cooker I purchased Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook which includes a number of recipes that start with fresh ingredients. The title of the cookbook cracks me up because, like I said, my mother never had a slow cooker. She has one now. I think it's still in the box sitting on the shelf in her basement pantry area.

Well, here it is. My slow cooker. [Please ignore the shiny wall that makes my new paint job look like crap. Blame it on the flash and the Mercury Retrograde.]



We met and fell in love somewhere back at the turn of the century. Things really got heated up when I was working full time. We rekindled the flame last summer when I realized that she came in handy for summer recipes. It took me a while but I caught on. Slow cookers are not only great for Fall and Winter meals, but also absolutely perfect for preparing meals on hot summer days.

Not all recipes work out great in a slow cooker no matter what the cookbooks try to tell you. There are some things that better left for cooking on the stove. But there are a surprising number of really good things that can cooked up the in the slow cooker. That negative association with cheap cuts of meat? Well, that's a bunch of snobbery, if you ask me. Although my mother did cook some meat when I was growing up, she didn't cook a lot of different cuts of meat. As a result, I'm a little timid about meat, but the slow cooker helps me get over my issues.

OK, so this post isn't about a cheap cut of meat, it's actually about sausages, but I'd thought I would throw that bit in here anyway. Seems appropriate, doesn't it? When talking about slow cookers there is a general sense that anything can be thrown in. Onward to the recipe!

Sausages with Beans and Peppers. Some people would turn tail and run the other direction with from a recipe like that. But, I'm not going to think about those people because I have a lot of CSA peppers, it's cold outside, and we need something warm and yummy for a Sunday evening.



I got some chicken sausages with apple. I try a different kind each time I do this recipe. Sometimes I'll use some leftover ones from our trips to the trailer.



Halfway through cooking the sausages I realized I was looking at the wrong recipe. The one I wanted had beans and tomatoes in it. The one I was preparing didn't. This seems to happen to a lot to me lately. I blame it on the pregnancy.



I cut up the sausages and sent the Big D to the store to get me one more can of beans. Usually I'll cook up a pot of beans ahead of time, but for obvious reasons, we had to go with canned beans. The reason: I messed up and wasn't looking at the right recipe.



I then pulled the chopped up peppers from the slow cooker and threw them in to soften on the stove. See these recipes don't call for just throwing things in the slow cooker. There is prep required.

Here is a shot of the final results. If it looks like I've eaten out of the bowl, it's because I did start eating before I remembered to take a picture. Whee! What a dizzy girl I've become while pregnant. Nonetheless, it was yummy and perfect with some french bread!



So, a recap of the recipe adapted from the above mentioned cookbook. I say adapted because I had to wing it halfway through.

Sausages with Beans and Peppers
Brown 1-2 pounds of sausages. Sliced up.
Chop 3-4 peppers, 3 cloves of garlic and 1 large onion. Saute in pan until softened.
Add peppers to slow cooker. Top with sausages, 2 cans of beans (any beans- today I used black beans and kidney beans), 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) and 1/4 cup red wine.
Cook in slow cooker 6-8 hours.
Serve with crusty french bread or maybe some rice. Or maybe, just maybe I'll make some maple hoecakes again.

Love and the Slow Cooker

My mother did not have a slow cooker when I was growing up. I grew up with certain fantasies about "American" food. Bacon, stews, mac-n-cheese, sandwiches: these were not things that were prepared in my mother's kitchen. Along with fantasies about "American" food, I also had fantasies about "American" cooking. I imagined an easy domestic lifestyle full of microwaves and slow cookers. By the time I got a microwave and slow cooker, I had no idea what to do with them. I mostly use the timer on my microwave. I never understood how people could actually cook with a microwave.

But, the slow cooker was different. I never knew, until recently, that slow cookers have a bad reputation amongst certain crowds. A bad reputation that comes with an association with canned goods and cheap cuts of meat, bland overcooked tastes and lazy cooking habits. I never knew because immediately after I got my slow cooker I purchased Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook which includes a number of recipes that start with fresh ingredients. The title of the cookbook cracks me up because, like I said, my mother never had a slow cooker. She has one now. I think it's still in the box sitting on the shelf in her basement pantry area.

Well, here it is. My slow cooker. [Please ignore the shiny wall that makes my new paint job look like crap. Blame it on the flash and the Mercury Retrograde.]



We met and fell in love somewhere back at the turn of the century. Things really got heated up when I was working full time. We rekindled the flame last summer when I realized that she came in handy for summer recipes. It took me a while but I caught on. Slow cookers are not only great for Fall and Winter meals, but also absolutely perfect for preparing meals on hot summer days.

Not all recipes work out great in a slow cooker no matter what the cookbooks try to tell you. There are some things that better left for cooking on the stove. But there are a surprising number of really good things that can cooked up the in the slow cooker. That negative association with cheap cuts of meat? Well, that's a bunch of snobbery, if you ask me. Although my mother did cook some meat when I was growing up, she didn't cook a lot of different cuts of meat. As a result, I'm a little timid about meat, but the slow cooker helps me get over my issues.

OK, so this post isn't about a cheap cut of meat, it's actually about sausages, but I'd thought I would throw that bit in here anyway. Seems appropriate, doesn't it? When talking about slow cookers there is a general sense that anything can be thrown in. Onward to the recipe!

Sausages with Beans and Peppers. Some people would turn tail and run the other direction with from a recipe like that. But, I'm not going to think about those people because I have a lot of CSA peppers, it's cold outside, and we need something warm and yummy for a Sunday evening.



I got some chicken sausages with apple. I try a different kind each time I do this recipe. Sometimes I'll use some leftover ones from our trips to the trailer.



Halfway through cooking the sausages I realized I was looking at the wrong recipe. The one I wanted had beans and tomatoes in it. The one I was preparing didn't. This seems to happen to a lot to me lately. I blame it on the pregnancy.



I cut up the sausages and sent the Big D to the store to get me one more can of beans. Usually I'll cook up a pot of beans ahead of time, but for obvious reasons, we had to go with canned beans. The reason: I messed up and wasn't looking at the right recipe.



I then pulled the chopped up peppers from the slow cooker and threw them in to soften on the stove. See these recipes don't call for just throwing things in the slow cooker. There is prep required.

Here is a shot of the final results. If it looks like I've eaten out of the bowl, it's because I did start eating before I remembered to take a picture. Whee! What a dizzy girl I've become while pregnant. Nonetheless, it was yummy and perfect with some french bread!



So, a recap of the recipe adapted from the above mentioned cookbook. I say adapted because I had to wing it halfway through.

Sausages with Beans and Peppers
Brown 1-2 pounds of sausages. Sliced up.
Chop 3-4 peppers, 3 cloves of garlic and 1 large onion. Saute in pan until softened.
Add peppers to slow cooker. Top with sausages, 2 cans of beans (any beans- today I used black beans and kidney beans), 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) and 1/4 cup red wine.
Cook in slow cooker 6-8 hours.
Serve with crusty french bread or maybe some rice. Or maybe, just maybe I'll make some maple hoecakes again.

ramp and sausage risotto

Now this is the way to start off the CSA season: ramp and sausage risotto! I found this idea through A Good Appetite on their page that lists the menu for the week. It seems this recipe is floating around the web. One of the things I like about looking for recipes on the web is reading the comments at the end. I like hearing about how others change or substitute ingredients for each recipe. Which is how I operate. Rarely do I have all the necessary ingredients and so I'm constantly changing it to accommodate what I have in my pantry. For this recipe, I did not have any vermouth and immediately thought to add the leftover white wine I had sitting in my fridge. Saw a comment that did this and that gave me confidence as I was cooking.

Also, I have to say that I love recipes that use the whole plant. This ramp and sausage recipe called for the ramp bulbs, stems and leaves. The leaves are sliced thin and added at the end of the recipe. I cut them and left them sitting on the kitchen counter. I had to go into the cupboard space beneath the bowl for a few things and after a while I started thinking perhaps something had died in my cupboard - the smell was so strong. I got worried. Then, I realized the smell was the ramp leaves. Nonetheless, the leaves added another layer of flavor and made the whole meal look like fresh spring!

Oh, my goodness, it was so incredibly wonderful. I took some pictures while I was cooking, but woke this morning with the realization that I did not have the memory card in the camera, so no pictures. They wouldn't have captured the yumminess of this recipe anyway!

It's really fun to think about the fact that while these ramps are available in the woods - in abundance - they won't be there very long. Now I'm all fired up about foraging for my own.

Cooking risotto in this household is fun. There are a lot of "yes, chef!" thrown about. I admit that I am a fan of "Hell's Kitchen" and risotto is always on their menu. I'd never tried a risotto before watching this television show. It was surprisingly easy to prepare.

I bought the sausage at Ready Meats. I bought the regular which seemed spicy enough. I steamed up some broccoli (not from CSA) and served it on top of the risotto. I should have gotten from french bread to prepare some garlic bread, but I forgot, so some biscuits went into the oven.

Now I have spinach, rhubarb and parsnips left until Thursday. I gave all the sorrel to my mother, but plan to keep the next batch for myself. I'm going to try that sorrel dal recipe. Also, I looked at the "best guess" list for this week's delivery and read that we are getting asparagus and salad mix! I love the salad mix! It has flowers in it! So pretty and convenient! Yum!

ramp and sausage risotto

Now this is the way to start off the CSA season: ramp and sausage risotto! I found this idea through A Good Appetite on their page that lists the menu for the week. It seems this recipe is floating around the web. One of the things I like about looking for recipes on the web is reading the comments at the end. I like hearing about how others change or substitute ingredients for each recipe. Which is how I operate. Rarely do I have all the necessary ingredients and so I'm constantly changing it to accommodate what I have in my pantry. For this recipe, I did not have any vermouth and immediately thought to add the leftover white wine I had sitting in my fridge. Saw a comment that did this and that gave me confidence as I was cooking.

Also, I have to say that I love recipes that use the whole plant. This ramp and sausage recipe called for the ramp bulbs, stems and leaves. The leaves are sliced thin and added at the end of the recipe. I cut them and left them sitting on the kitchen counter. I had to go into the cupboard space beneath the bowl for a few things and after a while I started thinking perhaps something had died in my cupboard - the smell was so strong. I got worried. Then, I realized the smell was the ramp leaves. Nonetheless, the leaves added another layer of flavor and made the whole meal look like fresh spring!

Oh, my goodness, it was so incredibly wonderful. I took some pictures while I was cooking, but woke this morning with the realization that I did not have the memory card in the camera, so no pictures. They wouldn't have captured the yumminess of this recipe anyway!

It's really fun to think about the fact that while these ramps are available in the woods - in abundance - they won't be there very long. Now I'm all fired up about foraging for my own.

Cooking risotto in this household is fun. There are a lot of "yes, chef!" thrown about. I admit that I am a fan of "Hell's Kitchen" and risotto is always on their menu. I'd never tried a risotto before watching this television show. It was surprisingly easy to prepare.

I bought the sausage at Ready Meats. I bought the regular which seemed spicy enough. I steamed up some broccoli (not from CSA) and served it on top of the risotto. I should have gotten from french bread to prepare some garlic bread, but I forgot, so some biscuits went into the oven.

Now I have spinach, rhubarb and parsnips left until Thursday. I gave all the sorrel to my mother, but plan to keep the next batch for myself. I'm going to try that sorrel dal recipe. Also, I looked at the "best guess" list for this week's delivery and read that we are getting asparagus and salad mix! I love the salad mix! It has flowers in it! So pretty and convenient! Yum!

sorrel, chives and a rainbow

This evening, just before sunset we had a rainbow! And then later I got the CSA newsletter through email! It's been a great end to the day. The box is going to include everything that was on the best guess list: sweet overwintered parsnips, red sunchokes, ramps, sorrel, overwintered spinach, rhubarb, burdock, chives, black radish, willow. This tip on the newsletter is really helpful:

Use first: Ramps, sorrel, chives,
spinach. The other items store
very well in the crisper drawer,
but use within a week or two for
best taste.

I've got to plan ahead because we are going to the WI trailer this weekend. I think I'll just take the burdock and the sunchokes because I can fry these easily. And I don't mind frying when I'm cooking outside.

The Big D had a business trip out to NYC last month. He returned with over two dozen bagels. I cut each one in half and then froze the whole lot. I gotta remember to make a chive cream cheese for the morning bagels. So the chives have to be split because I also want to add some to sour cream. Here's a recipe for the cream cheese:

1 block soft cream cheese
chopped chives
1 tsp garlic powder

I'm determined to enjoy the sorrel more this year. I want to try some recipes that bring out the distinctive tangy, lemon taste. It seems the best way to do that is to make some sort of drink with it. I found a Jamaican sorrel drink recipe. Hmm? Am I brave?

I have some other ideas:
Sorrel dal
Chicken with Sorrel sauce
Vegetarian sorrel tart
Sorrel Risotto
Penne with mushrooms and fresh sorrel

I am pleased with meal possibilities for next week. Thursdays seem like a good delivery date for me. Especially since we seem to spend most weekends at the trailer. This gives me time to (loosely) plan some meals. Although I do have a tiny, compact little kitchen in the trailer, it's always nice to try to cook out on the open fire. Or fry something outdoors with a dual propane stove top. If I am going to fry something I'd rather do it outside so the smell of the oil doesn't linger in all the fabrics. I'll try making some burdock chips and sunchoke fries.

That rainbow this evening had such distinct colors. It was vibrant and beautiful and one end of the arc seemed to be positioned right over the house where I pick up my CSA box. Just one more night until I get my pot of organic gold.

sorrel, chives and a rainbow

This evening, just before sunset we had a rainbow! And then later I got the CSA newsletter through email! It's been a great end to the day. The box is going to include everything that was on the best guess list: sweet overwintered parsnips, red sunchokes, ramps, sorrel, overwintered spinach, rhubarb, burdock, chives, black radish, willow. This tip on the newsletter is really helpful:

Use first: Ramps, sorrel, chives,
spinach. The other items store
very well in the crisper drawer,
but use within a week or two for
best taste.

I've got to plan ahead because we are going to the WI trailer this weekend. I think I'll just take the burdock and the sunchokes because I can fry these easily. And I don't mind frying when I'm cooking outside.

The Big D had a business trip out to NYC last month. He returned with over two dozen bagels. I cut each one in half and then froze the whole lot. I gotta remember to make a chive cream cheese for the morning bagels. So the chives have to be split because I also want to add some to sour cream. Here's a recipe for the cream cheese:

1 block soft cream cheese
chopped chives
1 tsp garlic powder

I'm determined to enjoy the sorrel more this year. I want to try some recipes that bring out the distinctive tangy, lemon taste. It seems the best way to do that is to make some sort of drink with it. I found a Jamaican sorrel drink recipe. Hmm? Am I brave?

I have some other ideas:
Sorrel dal
Chicken with Sorrel sauce
Vegetarian sorrel tart
Sorrel Risotto
Penne with mushrooms and fresh sorrel

I am pleased with meal possibilities for next week. Thursdays seem like a good delivery date for me. Especially since we seem to spend most weekends at the trailer. This gives me time to (loosely) plan some meals. Although I do have a tiny, compact little kitchen in the trailer, it's always nice to try to cook out on the open fire. Or fry something outdoors with a dual propane stove top. If I am going to fry something I'd rather do it outside so the smell of the oil doesn't linger in all the fabrics. I'll try making some burdock chips and sunchoke fries.

That rainbow this evening had such distinct colors. It was vibrant and beautiful and one end of the arc seemed to be positioned right over the house where I pick up my CSA box. Just one more night until I get my pot of organic gold.

Foraging: Ramps

I'm curious about foraging and curious about what can be foraged in this region. I'm curious about what can be gathered and eaten. The CSA pushed me forward in this inquiry. In the first box of each season there is always a bunch of ramps. They have a distinctive scarlet color to the stems. After eating the CSA harvest, I started seeing ramps in the woodlands of Wisconsin. They are first bright shades of green in the spring, rising as they do from the blanket of decaying autumn leaves.





However, getting to them can be an unnerving experience. While there are ramps growing everywhere, there are also lots of wood ticks. So, after spending some time digging up ramps, I spend time searching for wood ticks on my body.




Ramps have a onion and garlic qualities. They are also referred to as wild baby leeks. I use them in stir frys and for salad dressings. I picked up this recipe from my local coop: Eastside Coop in Northeast Minneapolis.

Ramp Dressing:
1/3 c. walnut oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
5 ramps (white parts only)
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in blender.

The salad dressing is perfect over spinach, another item available early in the CSA season. The dressing is yummy, but makes me a little gassy. They have quite a strong garlic smell so if I store them in the refrigerator, the smell intensifies.

I just read that the appearance of ramps is an indicator for morel hunters. Yum. That sounds great to me. Ramps and morel mushrooms sauteed together! I just can't wait for this season!

Foraging: Ramps

I'm curious about foraging and curious about what can be foraged in this region. I'm curious about what can be gathered and eaten. The CSA pushed me forward in this inquiry. In the first box of each season there is always a bunch of ramps. They have a distinctive scarlet color to the stems. After eating the CSA harvest, I started seeing ramps in the woodlands of Wisconsin. They are first bright shades of green in the spring, rising as they do from the blanket of decaying autumn leaves.





However, getting to them can be an unnerving experience. While there are ramps growing everywhere, there are also lots of wood ticks. So, after spending some time digging up ramps, I spend time searching for wood ticks on my body.




Ramps have a onion and garlic qualities. They are also referred to as wild baby leeks. I use them in stir frys and for salad dressings. I picked up this recipe from my local coop: Eastside Coop in Northeast Minneapolis.

Ramp Dressing:
1/3 c. walnut oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
5 ramps (white parts only)
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in blender.

The salad dressing is perfect over spinach, another item available early in the CSA season. The dressing is yummy, but makes me a little gassy. They have quite a strong garlic smell so if I store them in the refrigerator, the smell intensifies.

I just read that the appearance of ramps is an indicator for morel hunters. Yum. That sounds great to me. Ramps and morel mushrooms sauteed together! I just can't wait for this season!