(Norske Pannekaker: Grain-Free Norwegian Pancakes with Red Currant Jam and homemade Maple Breakfast Sausage)

I know I promised everyone another really great quick, easy, healthy and delicious DIY Holiday Gift in the series , but we had a little setback this weekend. We lost one of our bunnies, Lady Sassafras AKA “Sassy”. It was completely unexpected and so really left us in an emotional mess. Needless to say we were not feeling the joy of the season, so I decided instead of contaminating the last recipe with my bad energy mojo and sending it out to my loved ones, I will just save it for next year! Sassy will be missed and is in our hearts, a sweet fluffy bunny who always had an adventurous spirit despite a genetic disability she was born with that did not allow her use of one of her back legs.

(RIP Sassy)

As I have mentioned many times on this blog over the years, when this time of year rolls around I am always reminded of the time I spent in Norway and I like eating Norwegian or other Scandinavian inspired foods. This year I have really been getting into pancakes, so far we really love these Buckwheat Pancakes, Coconut Flour Pancakes and Oladyi (Russian Yogurt Pancakes) made with buckwheat flour.  But I was really missing those tender, almost crepe-like pancakes that melt in your mouth that I ate so often in Norway.

We spent a few days in Quebec for my birthday again this year , and we happened upon a European grocery, and we got a lot of really delicious items, including some wonderful red currant jam. Norwegians don’t use maple syrup very much and instead regularly use jam on pancakes and waffles.

On our return I decided to start looking for gluten-free (preferably grain –free) pancake recipes that would work for Pannekaker to eat with the jam. I knew I would be eating more grain over the holidays, which tends to not be so good for me, so if I can find grain-free substitutes it is better. I experimented with a few until I came across this one from Tropical Traditions for Coconut Flour Crepes. In fact they have a lot of great coconut flour recipes there. These were perfect, they really “ate themselves” to quote my husband. The only thing I did differently was use butter to fry them, instead of coconut oil – which I am sure would be great too, but Norwegians do love their butter. I served them with more butter, sprinkled cinnamon and topped with the red currant jam.

Roberto seems to have developed an intolerance to cow’s milk (even raw). So we do a lot with coconut milk these days while we are waiting to breed our goats so we can get some goat milk (hopefully this summer). However, if you want to try another version, with heavy cream and without any flour at all, Soli from I Believe in Butter whose mother is from Sweden, gave me this recipe her mom developed. I am sure they are fantastic and taste super authentic  – they are pretty much the same as Norwegian pancakes anyway, but each country likes to claim them for their own and why not? They are awesome! Try some today, for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as a holiday dessert!
For more Norwegian Scandinavian recipes that are great from this time of year please check out the recipes on this link.

Have many of you bought a fish like this? With the eyes still there? This was a new experience for me. Even though I am no stranger to the cycles of life and how food gets to my plate, I never bought or ate a whole fish before. I have not really cooked much seafood in my kitchen career, but I do enjoy it. I love smoked fishes, and there is a store sort of near to us called Healthy Living, that actually sells several varieties of whole smoked fishes. The last time we were there, they had this guy, for about $9, which is a steal if you are used to buying smoked fillets. So with an adventurous spirit, I bought it, bones, fins, eyes and all.

Funny story interlude…so Healthy Living also has a great variety of local meats and sustainable seafood– things like pork, beef, venison, lamb, duck, chicken – pretty much you name it, it has probably graced their shelves at some point. So I like to go every so often, and buy a small variety. So on the day we bought Mr. Mackerel, we also bought some Highland grassfed beef, duck rillettes, some venison shanks, several packages of chicken wings, pork belly, cans of tuna, fresh marinated anchovies etc. That was all we bought – no veggies, no fruit, and no dairy. So we get to the check-out line, and our cashier was kind of scowling at us. Her lips were pursed and her nose wrinkled like she smelled something really foul. As she was scanning our box of meat, she was only touching the corners of the packages and moving them across the scanner as quickly as possible. Then it dawned on me, and I said “I hope you aren’t a vegetarian”, and she responded, “No, I am a vegan, actually”. SCREEEECH. Talk about a clash of cultures.

But it really got me thinking about my days as a vegan (all 6 months of them), and I felt like, even though we take very different approaches, this girl and I both care about the welfare of animals and are taking action to opt out against the inhumane slaughter of them for human consumption. She was young, so you never know where her path might lead. When I was a vegan, and a vegetarian (for 10 years) I never in a million years would have thought I would raise animals for meat. But once I saw first-hand how animals can be raised humanely and with love and respect, for consumption, and how feeding your family from the sweat of your brow and your own hands is more honorable than buying non-meat items that are subsidized by the government, (like soy, a major vegetarian protein and something I ate a lot of) to the detriment of us all, animals included…and when I learned enough about the natural world that I had been so disconnected from, and learned that even if I was a vegetarian, in order to eat, animals had to die, I decided there had to be a better way, a way where I could take full responsibility for the food on my plate while at the same time take my place in the natural world, as a part of it- and this is one of the reasons I do what I do on the homestead – because I love animals and because I am an animal. To the cashier that probably sounds so backwards, but I have been forward, back and back again!

So anyway, back to Mr. Mackerel…like I said, I love smoked fishes, and I wanted to showcase this beautiful fish in a nice spring dish. I decided on a mackerel salad. Mackerel is packed with protein and essential fatty acids. It has a nice meaty texture and smoked it is just delicious! One of our favorites. To make the salad, I mixed together half of the fish (after I opened it up, took the bones out, etc) with 2 hard -boiled eggs, capers, roasted red peppers a splash of red wine vinegar and a touch of homemade mayo. I then served it on a bed of greens. We dined al fresco on the porch looking at the mountain and admiring the buds on the trees, the greening of the grass and the beautiful tulips in bloom.

Also, don’t forget – you have a few more days to enter for your chance to win the book Root Cellaring, and to get your very own Leftover Queen Award  ! I want to hear your tips -what are some small things do you do in your kitchens that make you a “Leftover Queen”?

I love Dark Mole – it is one of those sauces that captures the imagination and has an almost mystical quality to it– chock full of colorful, luxurious and delicious spices, chilies and chocolate. Whenever I see it on a menu, I can’t resist ordering it. I have never made it before, and it has been on my kitchen “to do” list for a long while. A series of events happened that made this the perfect time to make Mole, my way. This is not a traditional Mole, made by a Mexican Matriarch, but I do feel it encompasses the flavors and spirit of the dish.

As I said, this dish was inspired by several things – a recent shipment of samples from my foodie friend Justin, at Marx Foods (these guys are awesome!) of various dried chilies that we will be giving away on The Foodie Blogroll soon. I used two mild varieties – Mulato and Pasilla Negro. The Mulato is described as having a chocolate and licorice flavor, which I thought would go well in the Mole. The Pasilla Negro said it was “good in moles” on the package, so I trusted the Marx Foodies on that one.

This dish was also inspired by a chocolate bar I bought for the trip from Florida to Vermont. On road trips, we always like to treat ourselves to some dark chocolate. This time I chose Dagoba’s Xocolatl bar – dark chocolate with cocoa nibs, chilies and cinnamon. It was wonderful on its own, a perfect pick me up during a long day of driving. As I was eating the chocolate, I knew it was destined to be cooked with – as it was not very sweet (which is the way I like my chocolate) and full of the flavors described on the package.

I also wanted to use some Calabrian pepper powder, I received as a recent sample from Scott at The Sausage Debauchery for a giveaway on The Foodie Blogroll last month, that I hadn’t had a chance to cook with yet. This hot pepper powder is very reminiscent of hot smoked paprika. It is a gorgeous bright deep orange, and smells wonderful. A little goes a long way though, and I didn’t need much to add a kick to the dish. I also used some Mexican Mole Seasoning that I got at the Saint Augustine Spice and Tea Exchange. A store I frequented in Saint Augustine when we lived there, and that I am very thankful has a website, so I can continue to order their amazing, top quality spices.

I was very pleased with the result of my first attempt at Mole. The sauce had a lot of depth, and all the flavors really complemented each other in a cohesive unit. Not bad for the first time!

The leftovers make amazing quesadillas with some cheddar cheese and plain yogurt on top, or you could put some of the sauce over your morning eggs (fried or poached) for some Mole Eggs.

This is definitely a diverse sauce that can be used to turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. I love that this recipe makes enough for either 4 people, or several meals for 2, making this not only tasty, but cost effective, which is always a bonus. Especially because sauces like this taste doubly better the next day and your efforts in the kitchen can be extended to several meals.

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken drumsticks
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 1/2 TBS Mexican mole seasoning – fresh pepper, chocolate, cumin, coriander, chili pepper, garlic, onion, salt, etc. From The Spice and Tea Exchange
½ tsp Calabrian Hot pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
6 sticks Dagoba Xocolatl bar, melted
1 dried mulato chili (chocolate/licorice, mild)– reconstituted and scraped – reserve about 1 cup of water used to reconstitute.
1 dried pasilla negro chili (Good in moles) – reconstituted and scraped
juice of one lemon
1 cup strained tomatoes
5 carrots, chopped
4 small onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced

METHOD:

Wash the drumsticks while the chilies are reconstituting in hot water (this takes about 10-15 minutes for them to soften). In a bowl drizzle olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle spices over top. Add the chili flesh and massage everything into the chicken. Then add the lemon juice and stir all together. Let marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 300F. In a dutch oven, drizzle olive oil and brown chicken on all sides. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, and pour over chicken. Add the reserved chili water, and strained tomatoes to the bowl the chicken was marinading in. Whisk together and pour over the chicken, de-glazing the pan. Add the potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic, then stir the whole pot. Place the lid on the pot, and cook in the oven for 3 hours. After the 2nd hour, reduce heat to 200 F. Check for liquid every 45 minutes, and add water if necessary.

Serve on top of sprouted tortillas, if desired. Serves 2 – with leftovers for 4 small sprouted corn tortilla Quesadillas and 2 servings of Mole Eggs.

We are still without internet, here at the homestead, so my absence in the blogosphere continues…but I have been amassing so many great recipes since we got here, I just have to keep sharing, as I can. I am just so inspired to shop for food and cook here!

This is a local, or at least regional salad with products coming from Northern New England (or grown by me – in the case of the lemons). This salad features the beautiful and delicious bounty of spring and is packed full of nutrients and major brain food.

I am excited to be featuring some delicious products from several awesome local producers here in beautiful Northern Vermont. This just goes to show how easy and pleasurable it is to eat locally, when you are in a community that really supports local agriculture and food producers. Especially when these products are readily available and easy accessible to the community.

That really is the crux of the local food movement– even though our growing season is much shorter here, there is always an abundance of local products available. Having local products available year round is an important goal of this community, and because it is a community effort, you really can find local products year round. This includes produce, meats and dairy in addition to local coffee roasters, bread bakers, beer and wine makers, peanut butter producers, as well as salsas, sauces and condiments. Not to mention the maple syrup and raw honey! The produce variety may not be as extensive as if you were going to the regular grocery store, but that is part of the joy and challenge of seasonal eating. Plus, learning simple techniques like canning and preserving can really prolong the bounty of a shorter growing season, adding color, flavor and nutrients to the winter months. So if you plan ahead, you can actually eat quite well during harsher months. Thinking that weather is the key factor in the availability of local foods in a community, is a terrible misnomer. I found it much harder to find true local staple products in Florida, which is one of the reasons we left. I lived there for over 3 years. I have lived here less than 2 weeks.

This focus on local and sustainable food is just one of the many major reasons we have decided to make this part of the world our permanent home. We really are so lucky to have found a community that shares our strong core values, which is important on so many levels. Living in a place where your ideals are supported and just a “normal” part of life is a welcomed relief. People are adaptable and can make do anywhere, finding hidden treasures, but being able to live according to your values with ease is a true blessing. I am looking forward to sharing many other finds with you over the coming months and years.

Local Products

* Bar Harbor Mackerel, Bar Harbor, Maine -all natural, wild caught, naturally hardwood smoked Atlantic mackerel. Sustainably harvested from the clear cold waters of the Gulf of Maine. I consider Maine as well as the rest of Northern New England and the Quebec province of Canada (25 miles as the crow flies) to be local to us. This mackerel as well as wild herring fillets are available from a local market, Apple Tree.

* Pete’s Greens – Four Season Organic Vegetable Farm, Craftsbury, Vermont – Salad mix featuring: red rib dandelion, endive, fennel tops, wrinkled cress, red leaf amaranth, tatsoi, ruby red chard, bright lights chard, arugula, upland cress, spinach, orach and purslane. These were some of the most delicious and aesthetically beautiful greens I have had. We first had them at the Bee’s Knees an amazing local restaurant. I asked the server where they got their mixed greens, and then we were able to procure some from another local market, The Green Top Market.

* Elmore Mountain Bread Elmore, Vermont– Wood fired micro bakery. They use a long fermentation process in their bread making. Each loaf takes a total of 16 hours. Sometimes it is hard to resist bread like this, and so I was indulging on it when we first got here and I wasn’t having any ill effects from it. Now I know why…just another blessing, considering many of the restaurants in the area, as well as local groceries, and markets sell Elmore Mountain Bread. Being able to eat a sandwich or burger at a restaurant is a true luxury for me. Thank you, Elmore Mountain Bread!

* Farmer Sue’s  Peperoncini Peppers Bakersfield, VT – Do you know how hard it is to find peperoncini peppers without corn syrup? I love these little pickled peppers, and now I have an alternative to making my own . Farmer Sue makes all kinds of delicious pickled vegetables and sells at the year round Lamoille Valley Artisan Farmers Market .

RECIPE:

Smoked Mackerel Salad

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 oz. smoked mackerel fillets
juice of ½ lemon
salt&pepper to taste
hefty sprinkle of herbs de provence
1 TBS fresh chives, chopped
1 TBS mayonnaise
2 peperoncini peppers chopped
drizzle of olive oil
2 cups salad greens

METHOD:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, reserving a little lemon juice for the greens. Dress your greens with olive oil and lemon juice and toss. Place a mound of the mackerel salad on top. Serve with slices of sourdough baguette, if desired.

Be sure to share the mackerel juice with any feline or canine friends you might have at home. They will love you!

Serves 2

Thanks everyone for all your great comments recently – especially as it pertains to my two posts on year 2010 goals. I think we all have goals, but for me, putting it out there and in some sense therefore being more accountable makes it more fun – and more of a challenge for me! So thanks for all your lovely comments and feedback!

In my last post, as it pertains to one of my food goals for this year, I told you I was going to post a recipe for creamy tomato soup that I prepared in my Vitamix for lunch last week. I was lucky enough to receive one of these AWESOME machines from my lovely husband for my birthday. I have been wanting one for over 3 years, and this year, I guess I was a good girl! These machines are not cheap, but they do take the place of a blender, food processor and grinder (you can actually grind coffee beans in it) all in one. In fact you can make fresh fruit and veggie juice in it too – not pulpy but rich and creamy from all the natural fibers – the blades are that powerful. You can even make a kind of ice milk or fruity dessert in it as well.

We have really been enjoying all the above mentioned treats have we make with it, especially our nightly smoothies, but one of the things I love the most about the Vitamix is that is actually MAKES soup – I mean you don’t even have to cook it – the heat created from the friction of the ultra fast blades heats it up! So you literally have soup in 5 minutes.

Here is what I did:

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of Pomi strained tomatoes
1 ½ organic roasted red peppers (jarred)
dash of organic heavy cream
salt
freshly ground pepper
dried oregano
dried basil

I put all of this in the Vitamix and let her rip. In about 3-4 minutes you could see the steam coming out of the lid, telling me that it was done. That’s IT. The soup was so rich and creamy. The taste of the black pepper was very prominent – I guess it go so pulverized that it really infused the entire soup. I put a dollop of homemade yogurt on top and it was a wonderful, filling and super healthy lunch full of one of my favorite things – Lycopene, because it is oh so good. So go ahead and enjoy some tomato soup today!

On another note my friend Betherann from Kitchen Courage gifted me with a Beautiful Blogger Award and asked me to share 7 things about myself. So here they are:

1) I just took a DNA test for ancestry and health. I am adopted and know nothing at all about my birth family, my ethnic heritage or the types of health problems that run in the family. I have been waiting 33 years for this – and decided to finally do it. If we are facebook friends, keep checking my status update for how you can be involved in this life changing event! Trust me, it’ll be fun!

2) My favorite flower is the Thistle.

3) If I never had asparagus again in my life, I wouldn’t miss it.

4) I believe in life you have to be willing to take risks in order to realize your full potential.

5) My favorite color is Rust – which is why I probably love eating pumpkin, squash and sweet potatoes so much!

6) I spent a year in Norway and speak some Norwegian  – I used to be fluent – but it has been 15 years!

7) I am a very accurate and passionate archer – makes sense since I am a Sagittarius!

I got a comment recently from a new reader. She said she was enjoying my blog, but didn’t see many recipes for leftovers. That comment kind of surprised me, because most of the food I make uses some kind of leftover component. However, I don’t always specify that when writing my posts. So I want to make more of an effort to point out the leftover components I am using, and to talk about other ways that my food philosophy extends, but yet still encompasses “leftover qualities”. Things like making food from scratch using what it in your pantry or fridge, making things you eat often like bread, cheese and yogurt, or preserving seasonal vegetables and making your own condiments. This is all part of the Leftover Queen philosophy – use what you have on hand, make substitutions whenever necessary, to be able to focus on what using what is on hand, and make as much as you can from scratch using wholesome basics.

In this vein I want to talk about beans and rice. I love beans and rice, and it is certainly a meal that embraces leftovers. Beyond the basic components of beans and rice (and even within those two ingredients there are many varieties), you can throw anything you have lying around in the fridge that needs using up. As usual I always soak my rice and beans ahead of time. I generally take a day during the weekend, and do large batches of soaking – grains, flours and legumes, and then cooking til almost done, so I can just package them up and throw them in the freezer for quick yet nourishing meals later on.

The week before vacation is always a busy time, so I was happy to be greeted by beans, rice and other grains when I opened the freezer that I could throw together for a quick meal. For this particular batch of beans and rice I added some chopped up organic kielbasa and sauteed it with the rice. Then I added about 2 cups of chopped kale, some spices like New Mexico green chili powder, cumin and coriander, a few tablespoons of homemade tomato sauce (also from the freezer) and water. I let everything come to a boil, and cooked on low heat for about 25 minutes, adding more liquid as necessary.

Beans and rice is a combination dish that is eaten all over the world. It is frugal, healthy and delicious, and you can constantly change it up to suit your tastes! Make it with leftover meat, or keep it vegetarian – the choice is up to you! Top it with shredded cheese, yogurt (or sour cream), salsa or even guacamole!

So enjoy some beans and rice for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast, today!

Stay tuned for some posts about The Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Festival that I will be attending this weekend! Looking forward to meeting many of you there!

This is a dish I made a while back, that I have yet to blog about. It is so very simple, but the taste was just so bright and summery, I thought this would be the perfect time to share it – in the height of summer. These are my favorite kinds of salads – “leftovers salads”, where you pull a bunch of stuff out of the pantry and out of the garden, and make a simple masterpiece. I do a lot of these “leftovers salads” and they are always the best because they are always so unique.

I had half a box of orzo pasta that I cooked up and then cooled. I drizzled it with some sun dried tomato dipping olive oil that I received via FromTheFarm.com from Sierra Olive Oil Company. Then I chopped some heirloom tomatoes and garden tomatoes and some fresh mozzarella.

I stirred that in with fresh chopped herbs from our garden: basil, oregano, scallions and lemon balm. A little salt and pepper for the top, and a final drizzle of organic Meyer lemon vinegar.

I brought this to a potluck dinner and there was nary a piece of orzo left! Now that I am writing about it, I am craving it again!

So remember that chicken I roasted in a tagine last week?
Well, after we ate most of the meat heated up again, I decided to make a chicken soup from the carcass, as I always do. Homemade chicken soup is just amazing stuff and a really easy way to get even more out of your whole chicken. One whole chicken usually is 4 or 5 meals for us, including the soup, a pretty good deal, when a nice free range, organic whole chicken is about $7- $8 – making it about .75 cents a meal…

Well it just so happened that the same day I set out to make my chicken soup, I got another package in the mail from FromTheFarm.com , the awesome company that is sponsoring one of our March and April giveaways on The Foodie Blogroll . For details on this giveaway, click here

This package was from Koda Farms, which is a family farm and the oldest continuously run rice farm and mill in California. All facets of production are managed by members of the Koda family from growing and harvesting to milling and packaging.

They are well known for their Heirloom Kokuho Rose – Japanese style, medium grain rice. To this day they maintain their own seed program to preserve the purity of this heirloom rice strain. It is slow to mature, low in yield and tall in stature, making it a true heirloom. To plant this strain of rice every year requires a three year commitment to merely produce the seed. Koda Farms is also known for their Sho-Chiku Bai brand – which is a sweet rice.

In their own words, “One could aptly summarize that rice is our life”. They can trace back their rice growing ancestry back to the 1600′s in Japan. So it is more than their livelihood, it is the continuation of a family legacy and the preservation of their cultural heritage.

They are big on quality control, making sure that even in the processing, the entire rice drying and milling facility is cleaned of rice grains whenever production changes from one rice variety to another. They are also certified organic and all products are also certified kosher.

Besides these two rice varietals I also received three varieties of Organic Nirvana Heirloom Organic Rice and Grains. Each box contains artisan blends of certified organic, all natural ingredients in which whole brown rice is combined with other healthy and nutrient-rich grains and seeds. These rice mixes are prefect for vegetarian, vegan and macrobiotic diets. I wanted to add one of these rice and grain mixes to the soup. So I decided to use the California Whole Grain Goodness which contains heirloom brown rice, pearled barley, millet, oat berries, quinoa and rye berries.

I make my chicken soup the same way I make everything else – by seeing what is on hand and needs to be used up and using it. First I sauteed some onions, a few small red potatoes and garlic with some frozen peas and corn. Then I added the chicken carcass to the pot, covered it with water, and then added some vegetable bouillon (liquid variety). I also added salt and pepper and a few dashes of some Scotch Bonnet cooking sherry we got in Jamaica when we were on our honeymoon. I let it all simmer for about an hour. Then I added a cup of the California Whole Grain Goodness from Koda Farms, and let it cook another 20-30 minutes or so, until the grains were nice and tender.

The other day I talked about what to do with tons of fall veggies! Today there is more. As soon as the weather starts to get cooler I start thinking about roasted root veggies, it is kind of like my signature fall dish. There is just something so satisfying about the caramelization that happens when these beautiful veggies, glistening with olive oil, go in a hot oven together. I could live off different combinations of these veggies all autumn and winter long, and often do. This time I served the roasted veggies with Maple-Sage glazed pork chops and the rest of the greens.

The other thing I love to make when the weather turns cold are squash or pumpkin soups. This delicious pumpkin soup I made from the leftovers of those lovely jack-o-lanterns that we made for Halloween based on a the recipe from Creamy Vermont Winter Pumpkin Soup from Dishing Up Vermont.

Jenn’s Roasted Root Veggies

INGREDIENTS:
(There are no real amounts here)

These are the different veggies I use, try any combination!

carrots
turnips or rutabagas
sweet potatoes
red skinned potatoes
garlic
beets
red onions
shallots

olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh sage or rosemary (still on the branches)
pure maple syrup (optional)

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Chop all your veggies into bite sized pieces. In a gigantic mixing bowl place all the veggies and herbs and pour a healthy amount of olive oil on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with maple syrup. Mix well.

Pour veggies evenly on cookie sheets. Place in oven and cook for 35-40 minutes. Turn veggies over and continue to cook another 35-40 minutes or until they are fork tender and browned!

Maple Sage Pork Chops

Basically, I just throw my pork spice rub (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, salt, pepper) on the chops with some fresh sage in a smoking hot pan. Brown the chops quickly on each side and then de-glaze the pan with a maple-water mixture. Throw a lid on the pan and in the oven for about 5-10 minutes to finish them off.

Pumpkin Soup
(adapted from Dishing Up Vermont)

INGREDIENTS:

2 small pumpkins (5-6 lbs.), roasted
4 oz. butter – preferably from VT
2 sweet onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
2 TBS fresh sage, chopped
couple shakes of nutmeg
2 quarts of chicken or veggie stock
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream (you can also sub plain yogurt)
salt and pepper

METHOD:

First I cut up the jack-o-lantern pumpkins and drizzled with with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them in the oven at 400 F for about an hour. I skinned it and put it to the side.

Melt butter in a large stock pan or Dutch oven. Add onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until soft. Add pumpkin, spices and herbs and stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion stick or in batches in the food processor. Pour back in the pot and sautee for another 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in maple syrup and heavy cream and continue to cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe is horribly old. It is back from around the time right after we got married in May. But this is part of the promise to myself to get these old posts up and out of the “pending” folder! Plus as you will see if you read this post, there are several good reasons for posting it now.

This Quiche is my entry for Ley’s Baking for Breast Cancer Awareness Event ! It is being hosted over on one of my favorite blogs, Cilanto & Lime. It is Ley’s first blog event and I encourage everyone to participate. Last month we participated in Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, here on The Leftover Queen Blog . I feel that it is vitally important to spread awareness about all these diseases!!!

Thankfully, up until this year I have not personally known anyone with this terrible disease. But with the expanding of my horizons through the food blogosphere, I heard about Bri, from Figs with Bri , during last June’s Click Event. Bri is been battling this terrible disease for the second time. My heart and prayers go out to her and her family. I don’t personally know Bri, but I feel like she is part of my foodie family anyway, so this is dedicated to her and all the other women and men who suffer from this disease and their loved ones.

Breast Cancer Statistic: Excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among U.S. women, accounting for more than 1 in 4 cancers. For more, see this website.

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I have never been a fan of apples. For me, when people got all excited in the fall for apple season, I hunker down, square my shoulders and get ready for all the apple treats I have to consume out of politeness during this season. I can’t really explain what it is about apples I don’t like. I like crunch, so it isn’t that. I just think the flavor of them is either too sweet or too tart for me to ever really like. I lived in Apple Country, New England for years, and I have tried many different types, I have been to many an apple festival, but there were never any that really “applealed” to me. The only things apple-y that I can tolerate are apple cider donuts, or apples that are paired with something savory. For example, apples in squash soup, a piece of apple pie with cheddar cheese or this latest recipe, Apple Chard Quiche. I decided to post this in honor of the fact that we are heading off on our yearly New England trip next week, and heading right into apple country!!! To read about last year’s trip, click here(the articles are on both the first and second pages).

Anyway, while we had family here over the time of the wedding, apples were purchased, because some of the guests liked them. But when they left, there were several remaining apples. Horror of horrors! What was I supposed to do with these, these, things???? Being the Leftover Queen that I am, I couldn’t even think about throwing them away, even though I don’t like them. I thought about throwing them outside for the animals, but thought I really should challenge myself instead. So I knew I had come upon one of my greatest culinary challenges. I had to come up with something tolerable, that I could pass off even as good, for two apple-haters. Yep, Roberto is not a friend to the apple either. Imagine that.

I came across this recipe I had saved from a Vegetarian Times Magazine years ago. I think I was intrigued by the combination of flavors. So, I tweaked it to our liking. The amazing thing is, we both really genuinely loved it. It was really weird, but we could have eaten the whole quiche in one sitting. We actually had to restrain ourselves , even in our bewilderment. So the crazy thing is, that I for the first time in my life, I am happy it is apple season, so I can enjoy this quiche at the height of their season. Who would have thought?

Apple-Chard Quiche
adapted from Vegetarian Times

INGREDIENTS:

1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS unsalted, European butter
1 large Spanish or yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine – I used chardonnay
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss chard -I used red
salt and pepper to taste
3 apples, chopped
2 TBS whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 packed cup shredded sharpest cheddar cheese – I used Cabot vintage extra sharp
1/2 cup milk
1 9-inch deep dish pie crust – I was bad and bought one, actually I bought two, it came in handy later…

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake frozen crust in oven for about 10 minutes. Heat oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the onions. Sautee until caramelized, about 15-20 minutes. After about 5 minutes, add wine and reduce. If the onions start to dry out or burn, add water to the skillet. I had to add probably about 3 tablespoons during the process. But I used my cast iron skillet, which tends to need more liquid. Add swiss chard, salt and pepper and stir often until chard is soft, about 7 minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, combine apples, flour and nutmeg. Toss to coat the apples. In a larger bowl, combine eggs, and milk. Beat until blended. Add cheese and stir to combine everything. Fold in the apple mixture.

Spoon chard/onion mixture into pie crust and then pour the egg/cheese/apple mixture on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cheese mixture is set and the top is nice and browned. Cool for about 5 minutes before slicing, or it will fall apart. Take it from one who knows.

After I filled the one pie crust, I had leftover swiss chard and caramelized onions. So I rolled the other pie crust out and made a kind of calzone, by stuffing the crust with swiss chard, onions and chunks of cheddar. Man, that was rockin!

As many of you know, I spent some time living on the Navajo (Dine, meaning “The People” ) Reservation, at Black Mesa/ Big Mountain many years ago.

It was a very transformation period in my life, educationally, personally and spiritually. I always look back on this time fondly, not only because of my own personal development, but because of the people I met, the bits of language I learned and especially how these people who really don’t have much, made delicious food based on the foods that are around and the plants and animals their people have raised for generations. If it were not for their sheep (and other livestock) and their gardens, many would be on the verge of hunger all the time, or relegated to eating foods full of preservatives and chemicals from the government. The people I lived with tried to feed the government cheese to their dogs, and they wouldn’t touch it.

Perhaps the most important food in the Dine’ culture (besides sheep) are the Three Sisters: corn, squash and beans. These three crops form the foundation of their diet and are planted together in mounds – corn in the middle and squash and beans surrounding it. The corn is planted first, once it has grown some, it provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide necessary nitrogen to the soil that the other plants need to grow and the squash spreads along the ground, using up most of the sunlight, preventing weeds. The squash leaves also act as a “living mulch,” that retains moisture in the soil, while the prickly hairs of the vine deter pests.

Pretty cool, huh?

Well, what is just as cool, is Valli and Ivy‘s food blogging event based on, World Food Day held by The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Their goal is to raise awareness through the blogosphere for “World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy.” Something that I felt driven to participate in.

Since the Dine’ are environmentalists at the core of their culture and many of them don’t even have electricity or running water where they live, I felt food that reflects their culture and relationship to the Earth and the planet would be appropriate here. For Val and Ivy’s event they are asking that we submit a recipe which represents our country (these are the first Americans) that would feed at least 6 people (check). They are looking especially for family favourites, regional favourites that uses local and perhaps seasonal ingredients (check again!)

So in order to honor the time I spent with the Dine’ I really wanted to make a dish that incorporates the Three Sisters and serve it with some fry bread. Fry bread is a necessary part of all Dine’ meals. Sometimes there is corn bread (some of the best corn bread is made with blue corn meal), but fry bread is the most common. I know that with the family I stayed with, it was made first thing in the morning – each loaf was kneaded and then fried in a cast iron skillet. Usually enough was made to last the whole day. It took me quite a long time to get it halfway decent- as I am not a kneader by nature. Everyone always knew when the billigana (“white girl”) made the fry bread as it was usually not as soft and always oddly shaped…still is…

This time, I also tried to make the fry bread a tinsy bit healthier by using some whole wheat flour as well!

Hope you enjoy this Native American inspired meal! Great for the fall, especially….click through to meet our newest family member…

Three Sisters Casserole w/ Polenta :

INGREDIENTS:

Polenta:

1 1/2 cups instant polenta
1 TBS chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
5 cups boiling water

Casserole:

3 TBS olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 small jalapeno (less if you are not spicy!), minced
2 large cloves of garlic minced
1 lb of squash – (I used a funky kabocha squash, because I had never had one before), cooked and chopped into cubes (about 2 cups)
1 small can of tomatoes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp green chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn kernels – fresh is best, but frozen is fine too

METHOD:

Make the polenta. Whisk together polenta, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Add it to the 5 cups of boiling water. Stir together and reduce heat to low. Stir continuously for about 3 minutes, or until polenta is cooked and thick. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F. Heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Over medium heat cook the onion for about 6-8 minutes until soft. Add the peppers (bell and jalapeño) and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the squash, can of tomatoes, coriander, cumin and green chili. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add some water (only a few TBS at a time) if the mixture becomes too dry. Stir in the beans and corn and cook another 5 minutes.

Coat a large baking dish with a little olive oil. Spread about 2 cups of polenta on the bottom of the pan. Spoon three sisters mixture on top and smooth the remaining polenta over the top. Brush top with a little more olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes or until top is golden. Serve with Fry Bread.

Fry Bread:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/4 tsp salt
warm water

METHOD:

Combine the first 5 ingredients and slowly add enough warm water to form dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it is smooth soft and not sticky. Cover and let rest 1 hour. Shape into small balls and pat into flat circles about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Set aside.

In skillet, heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil. Brown dough circles on each side and drain on paper towels.

Oh and speaking of little peppers ( jalapeno) in the casserole, here is our newest little pepper – Peperoncino, our new puppy!

(Sorry for the picture quality – can you believe we lost the camera battery charger!!!!! ARGH!)

He is a one year old Italian Greyhound/ Chihuahua mix and he is an absolute angel!

Look forward to spicy food posts in “Peperoncino’s Corner” soon!

I have been hearing about Pomodori e Riso (tomatoes and rice) for the past two years. This is one of Roberto’s favorite dishes that he misses the most since moving from Rome to the US. Like his mom’s Involtini, tortellini soup, and roasted potatoes from the Rosticceria, he mentions pomodori e riso often with a dreamy faraway look in his eyes. Pomodori e riso, roasted potatoes and roasted chickens are on offering in many a Rosticceria in Rome. I have been hearing about how great the food is from these places, that when I finally make it to the Eternal City, I imagine that they will be built of gold and marble. Not only this, but I really want to do my best to replicate Roberto’s favorite dishes and give him a sense of home. But Roman cuisine is all uncharted territory for me, as my Italian ancestors are from much farther South and therefore the cuisine is an entirely different animal! But I am always up for a good challenge in the kitchen!

My attempts at making the tortellini soup went over pretty big a few years ago (before I had this blog), so when we found ginormous tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market last week, and he got the pomodori e riso bug, I was all for it. I put on my proverbial chef hat, and my geeky researcher glasses and in a very Food 911 fashion, I asked a lot of questions about how it was supposed to taste and why his past attempts just didn’t do it for him.

Here were the problems with his past attempts:

1) The tomatoes and potatoes were too hard – the ideal texture is soft on the inside, but crispy on the top of the tomatoes and the outsides of the potatoes from sitting in the rosticceria all day getting nice and slowly cooked.

2) The tomatoes were too small and therefore not up to par

3) The sauce needed some help – it had been too bland in the past

4) Rice was not the right texture

So I thought about how to improve on the recipe, and came up with these solutions:

1) I have perfected roasted potatoes. So I knew how I was going to cook them (see recipe method), as for the tomatoes, they needed to be cooked a little ahead of time to get them to the right texture and then but under the broiler (with a little grated parm) at the end to get the crispy top.

2) Use the season’s bounty of beautiful big tomatoes (I don’t think these kinds of tomatoes grow very much in New England)

3) I made the sauce by using the insides of the tomatoes, some Pomi tomato sauce, fresh basil, fresh garlic and salt, sugar, balsamic and pepper to make a delicious and fresh tasting sauce

4) I used arborio rice and pre-cooked it, but added a little extra water so that when it was baked inside the tomatoes, it wouldn’t get hard

Pomodori e Riso

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups uncooked arborio rice
@ 8 small potatoes – we used red skinned
s&p
dried rosemary
4 very large garden fresh tomatoes, insides scooped out and reserved, and tops reserved
2 large portabella mushrooms, sauteed in olive oil and s&p
grated parm for the top
drizzle of olive oil

for the sauce

insides of tomatoes
@ 1 cup of Pomi tomato sauce (or any other you like)
3 cloves fresh garlic
6 nice leaves of fresh basil
shot of balsamic
1 tsp of sugar
s&p to taste

METHOD:

1) Cook rice to package directions – make sure to salt the water. Mix in sauteed portabellas and set aside.

2) Preheat the oven to 425 F. Cut the potatoes into wedges, drizzle with olive oil and season with s&p and dried rosemary. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes, flipping after 20 minutes

3) Place tomatoes in a large glass baking dish with their tops on and cook them along with the potatoes for about 15 minutes or until they start to soften up. Remove from oven after 15 minutes, while potatoes continue to cook.

4) In the meantime make the sauce – put all ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix together. Add about 3/4 of the sauce to the rice mixture.

5) Stuff the tomatoes with the rice mixture.

6) When potatoes are finished, put them in the bottom of the baking dish you used for the tomatoes. Place the stuffed tomatoes on top. Great some cheese over the tops of the tomatoes and put the lids of the tomatoes on top. Pour reserved sauce over top of everything

7) Bake in the oven at 400 F for about 25-30 minutes. Then place under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until skins of tomatoes char a bit on the top and the cheese browns a little.

Serve with a little extra grated cheese and a drizzle of good quality olive oil.

Well these were delicious! It tasted like summer on a plate – it was fresh and flavorful and full of the bounty of the season! Roberto was very happy with our version, but felt that the rice needed more salt or something to give it a little umph! He though the potatoes and tomatoes were some of the best he ever had! We had a wonderful time making this dish together and I think it is one of those dishes we will make every time we find really great big and delicious tomatoes!