Successful homemade burritos!

Paul and Mae love the frozen bean and cheese burritos. At $4 for 12, they are a good deal. But I decided to try and make them at home, and they are yummy! Less salty for sure, but just as yummy. I used this recipe. The black beans are the Hopi black beans from our CSA. While preparing them, I was struck by how purple they were - beautiful! The onions are also from the CSA and the rice leftover from Xmas' Chinese take out. The salsa is from a jar - another tomato thing to try to can next summer! Shredded cheddar cheese from Colorado and some cumin are also in there. I used to make our own corn tortillas but in my decluttering excitement I gave away the tortilla press. *sigh* The tortillas are from a local vendor, and they are so good I could eat them alone! All in all, a successful creation. Hooray!

Back to basics

Before Ted was diagnosed with his gluten intolerance, I baked homemade sandwich bread. My friend Wendy had a decent bread machine recipe and it made 2 loaves, which lasted us a week or so. And I did that for quite a while, at least a year if not more. Then the gluten issue arose and I bought, baked, ordered and fiddled with dozens of GF bread recipes, all of which he rejected (and I don't really blame him.) About 6 months ago his doctor put him on a digestive enzyme to take with a meal that includes gluten or dairy (which he is also sensitive to, though we've known that since he was 4). While I don't fill his plate with wheat products, it's been a lifesaver, especially for sandwiches. Mr. Picky loves his nut butter sandwiches, and I love that he loads up on the peanut, almond or hazelnut butter, for the good fat and protein that his skinny 48 pound body needs. Just recently I began baking our own bread again. It's more of a white bread and as the days pass, each new batch is more like sourdough, which is interesting. It's from a 5 minutes a day recipe that I had written down a while ago. I mix up enough for 8 loaves and then put the dough in the fridge, covered. Every other day I bake a loaf in a loaf pan. It's surprisingly good. I'm going to try rolls and hamburger buns tomorrow and see how they are. I love discovering an easier way to do something I truly want to do. Fresh bread is up there on the list, right after the GF pancakes that I've finally mastered and churn out constantly. Now, about that raw milk share...

Week #4 Wrap Up (through 12/27)

I'm not sure why my weeks are different from everyone else's. Our first week was Thanksgiving week, right? So this is Week 4. I'm confused. Anyway! This was a good week. The days were relaxed and mellow, and I did plenty of cooking and resting. Ahhh...

The Rustic Cabbage Soup I made up on Sunday lasted us all week as a quick lunch or dinner. I had rehearsal on Monday night and a late TKD class with Ted on Tuesday night, so it came in handy. We also finished up the leftover Chinese take-out from Paul's work's holiday party on Saturday. When all the entrees were gone, I transformed the leftover rice into the delicious rice pudding I made for Nancy when I visited. Mae and I were the only ones who ate it, and the entire 13x9 pan was gone in less than 2 days. Mmm.

On Thursday I fixed Annette's delicious Savory Squash Gratin to go with our traditional Xmas Oyster Stew that Paul grew up loving every year. The gratin was very rich but tasty. I used Gruyere cheese because that's what I had on hand, ready to make Saturday's crock pot French Onion Soup, using CSA onions, homemade veggie broth and locally made bread from Great Harvest Bread Company. While I was roasting the acorn squash for the gratin, I popped in my oldest sugar pie pumpkin too and froze the puree for soups later on. The resulting plethora of roasted seeds were perfect this time; I think the trick is roasting them at low heat for a longer time. I had them at 250 for a total of 45 minutes, stirring every 15.

I hope that those of you who celebrate Xmas had a lovely one!

Week #3 Wrap Up

Wow this was a busy week! Ted was home sick, Ole the dog was recovering from TPLO surgery, all three kiddos' schools were busy with parties and everyone was celebrating Hanukkah! It was crazy! I was so grateful for the homemade goodness of our evening meals, reminding us to slow down, enjoy each other and be grateful for what we have.

On Monday, I fixed French Market soup, (CSA onion, Indian Woman beans, garlic & homemade stock) which fed us the next two nights as well. On Thursday I defrosted the Squash Pot Pie I had doubled and frozen on Thanksgiving. We feasted on the scrumptious pie the rest of the week. Of course, latkes with CSA potatoes and onions joined in on the side a few nights last week too - oh so yummy.

This weekend I cooked up a storm, prepping double batches of Rustic Cabbage Soup,(CSA cabbage, potatoes, onion, garlic, Hopi beans & homemade stock) Abbos's own Celery Curry Soup (CSA celery, onions, potatoes & stock) and lots of homemade veggie stock from the peelings and clippings. Paul also helped shred a ton of cabbage, and we made up 2 huge batches of our CSA's recipe for Freezer Coleslaw. A good week!

We had our last CSA Keeper share pickup last Wednesday and the larder is full! The basement houses copious and various squash; plump beets and pale turnips are in the crisper in dark plastic bags, and huge fat carrots live in the other drawer - we love the carrots so much we tend to eat them up before I can fix our favorite Carrot Bisque recipe. My job this week is to roast and plan the squash. I foresee soups, stews and simple roasted squash appearing on our Dark Days menu next week.

Stay warm, everyone, and Happy Winter!

French Market Soup in the crockpot

Last week we ate locally but didn't cook. How? Leftovers! It was lovely.

This Monday morning I tossed some ingredients into the slow cooker. A hearty simple soup will be ready tonight at 6pm, using almost all local ingredients. The recipe is here. It includes (all from the CSA) beans, onions, garlic and broth. Non-local ingredients are a can of tomatoes (grrr - hey! is anyone willing to barter? My peach jam for your canned tomatoes?), s&p, lemon juice and liquid smoke. Homemade rolls will round out the meal. Is it dinner time yet? mmm.....

Celery Curry Soup

This recipe and directions are from "my farmer" at Abbo. We'll be having this soup this week! Sounds delicious, and a great way to use up all that celery!

Yummy Celery Curry
Ingredients:
1 super large Abbo onion (I prefer the yellow ones for this recipe) diced
4-6 Abbo potatoes peeled and sectioned
10-12 stalks of Abbo celery with leaves, chopped
2 Tbs Curry Powder
4 cups broth (I like Rapunzel bouillon when I do not have home made)

In sesame oil saute the onions. Once softened, add the broth, celery and potatoes. When a fork easily passes through the potatoes add 2 tablespoons curry powder, stir and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
Get out your blender! Blend to desired consistency (if you like chunky soup for example, only blend for a short time or only blend half, or blend all but your potatoes) and stir back together.

Wala! You're done. Add plain yogurt or sour cream to the top with a couple celery leaves for a beautiful presentation.

I've added carrot to this recipe, and I think squash would also be good. I have not tried freezing, but suspect it would work out just fine. If you find your soup a bit thick, you could certainly add coconut milk as a thinner instead of additional broth. This is a terrific variation! Enjoy!

Dark Days Update

This week's update is in our new space! This was a local week, to be sure. Here are the meals we enjoyed this week with links to the recipes.

Monday is our crock pot day. We had a rich, nourishing stew of red beans, cabbage and roots. It needed a little more punch, but it was very warming. All ingredients but the rice, celery seed and enchilada sauce were from our CSA, Abbondanza. Tuesday we had the leftovers and they were delicious with a dash of tabasco!

On Wednesday I roasted some veggies for a Veggie Pie and made up a HUGE amount of homemade veggie broth in the process. The house smelled wonderful all day! The pie was a little too dry for my taste, so next time I'll make it a bit more liquidy. We nibbled on the extra roasted veggies all week. All ingredients but the pie crust were from our CSA. Leftovers on Thursday were yummy!

On Friday, I fixed one of our absolute favorite soups, Lentil Buttercup. Buttercup is such a delicious squash - so sweet and yummy. I added our very sad looking old bok choi to it and it was a good addition. CSA ingredients were the broth made from the veggie pie veggies, buttercup squash, onions, garlic and bok choi. The red lentils were from the pantry and I think bought a few years ago! They seemed to be ok. Mmm...

Saturday we had a party at night, so I brought Pumpkin Black Bean Soup, a favorite! It used all CSA ingredients (pumpkin, Hopi black beans, onion, garlic, veggie broth). Tomatoes were from a can:-( Next summer I vow to preserve tomatoes!! Tonight we are going to enjoy the fridge of leftovers! This was Week 2 of the Dark Days Challenge. So far, so good!

Yum

There were some very old and sad-looking bok choi languishing away in my crisper. And our squash seems to be multiplying somehow. Tonight I wanted a warm, filling soup that would bring them together. Red lentils proved to be the perfect glue. Lentil Buttercup Soup was a favorite last winter and now I remember why. We didn't have any spinach, but the bok choi subbed in just fine. I roasted the seeds too and it made the perfect Shabbat dinner. This time I did roast the squash beforehand, which made it a simple and fast soup to prepare. We will enjoy this soup for lunch in the next few days, and I'll prepare it again on the 18th with the frozen roasted buttercup that is waiting in the freezer. Yup, batch preparing ingredients is the way to go, if you have freezer space. Why roast one squash when you can roast an entire oven full?

More info on meal planning soon, but I use Tsh's system whenever I can get organized. She is a wonderful source of organization inspiration!

Thanksgiving Lentil-Squash Pot Pie

This recipe has been tweaked off and on for 15 years. It has its roots in my very first vegetarian cookbook, Sunset Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, that I purchased in 1994. The pictures are beautiful and I've nearly worn this copy out, trying and enjoying most all the recipes. This one is a stand-out though. Here it is with my revisions.

2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 TBSP ginger, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1.5 cups water
2 cups brown or green lentils, rinsed and drained
6 cups vegetable broth
about 3 pounds cubed squash - keep with one variety. (butternut, banana, Hubbard, delicata etc.)
Pastry for 2-crust 9-in pie
1 TBSP beaten egg

1. Crush 1st 3 spices in mortar and pestle. Add to large 5-6 qt pan with next 4 ingredients + 1/2 cup water.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until veggies are a golden-brown. Add 1/4c water as needed to keep from sticking, up to 3/4 up a cup. This will take 10-15 minutes and is worth it!

3. Add lentils and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.

4. Add squash and continue to simmer til lentils and squash are soft (about 20 minutes). I usually pre-bake my squash and just add it in when the lentils are soft, to make it easier.

5. Pour into a 3-4 qt casserole. (You can stop here and refrigerate til the next day.)

6. Roll out pastry. Lay over vegetables and over pan. Flute firmly against the rim. Brush with beaten egg. Slash top a few times. If you have extra pastry, cut it into shapes like leaves or hearts to decorate the top of the pie.

7. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes. Makes 8-10 servings.

This has been our Thanksgiving meal for years. I hope it brings you as much joy as it does us!

Wednesday's Dinner: Veggie Pie

On Wednesdays I have my morning free. Usually I ride my bike, take a spin class or do something in the late morning, before picking Sam up at noon. This morning we are having a blizzard, so Paul took the van with snow tires and I am at home today. This suits me well! A batch of veggie broth is simmering on the back burner (recipe follows - so easy) and root veggies are roasting in the oven. They will be turned into a veggie pie for dinner using the extra leftover pie crust not used for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. (Mmm ... pie. I have one more sugar pie pumpkin. Perhaps I'll roast and puree that up today for *just* one more pie...).
This pie recipe could be a pot pie, but we have a lentil squash one ready in the freezer, and I wanted this to be a bit different. Again, use whatever you have on hand. You cannot go wrong!

Veggie Broth
When chopping veggies, save the scraps in a large tupperware. When it's full, make some veggie broth and freeze in 2 cups portions in the freezer. If you don't have scraps, you can use carrots, potatoes and celery for a basic broth. I just add my scraps, a bay leaf, some Italian seasoning and fill the stock pot up with cold water. Let it cook for an hour, turning down the heat when it starts to boil. Simmer for an extra 20 minutes with some soy sauce for extra salt.

Veggie Pie
Chop up whatever veggies you have on hand. I had turnips, beets, celery, potatoes and red onions. Peel and chop and put in a roasting pan (or a cookie sheet lines with foil and sprayed with PAM if you're me and don't have a roasting pan). Sprinkle generously with olive oil and your choice of seasonings. I wanted this to be mellow, so I added rosemary and thyme. Add sea salt and pepper and use your hands to combine, so each piece is coated with the olive oil and has some seasoning. Roast at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. It depends on how much you roast, so keep your nose nearby and start checking at about 40 minutes. Stir every 20-30 minutes too, to make sure it browns.
If you don't want to go to the trouble, Stephanie gives a very simple crock pot recipe for roasting veggies.

Bake your pie crust for about 5-7 minutes in a 350 oven, then add your roasted veggies, mashing them somewhat with your spoon to mix them up. Add a TBSP of butter to the top. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

Monday's Dinner: Crockpot

On Mondays, Paul takes the kiddos to school. I volunteer in Sam's class at 11, so I have approximately 3 hours to myself. Monday is also my rest day, so I don't run (or bike or swim) on Mondays. It is the perfect day to cook. I usually make up a large crockpot meal and a batch of GF pancakes on Mondays. This Monday, I fixed a new recipe for us, but one that used up a whole head of cabbage! It was mild and a little dull, but tasty and filling. I'll make this again, with perhaps a dash of tabasco to liven things up!

Of course, substitute whatever you have on hand. The key for me was using up the cabbage!

All ingredients are from the CSA except the rice, celery seed & enchilada sauce.

1 cup red beans, dried, washed and soaked over night
1 onion, chopped
2 turnips, chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cabbage, chopped
1 TBSP celery salt (or equal parts sea salt + celery seed)
2 cups water.
3 TBSP red sauce (tomato sauce, pasta sauce, taco sauce, enchilada sauce...)
1 tsp butter

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. We ate at 6:30pm and it was a bit overcooked.

Serve over rice or pasta or alongside garlic toast or rolls.