Beef Stew to Soothe

Friday, February 29, 2008

As I was getting ready to head out into the cold winter air a few mornings ago, a noise from outside forced me to pause in the middle of what I was doing. Songbirds. Since the Winter Solstice in December, the shift of the daylight hours has been growing more perceptible each week, but to me there is no surer sign that spring is coming than the return of the songbird’s twitter outside my window or the sigh of a mourning dove as I walk to catch my train.

In Reading Terminal Market, the Chilean grapes, nectarines, peaches and plums are piled high in seductive, if stony, pyramids. Their presence is a reminder that just as the spring thaw has yet to reach Philadelphia, it must be high summer in some other part of the world. As tempting as they are, I know that their beauty is only skin deep and I pass them over with few exceptions, reminding myself that spring strawberries are but a few months away. Bracing myself against the lingering winter chill, my walk home makes me feel decidedly less optimistic that I will find signs of the new season around the corner.  Until I can wholeheartedly announce the arrival of Spring and her flowers, lettuces, and eventual asparagus, I will content myself and warm my kitchen with cold weather fare. Banishing the chill that seeps in at the edges of the poorly-sealed windows in our West Philly rental is this recipe for beef stew. Originally printed in Maxim “a mindless, but funny magazine for mindless, but funny, guys” and gradually tweaked and adapted by my father, this stew is remarkably good. The recipe dictates to braise the beef and roast the vegetables separately from one another, a vital cue that allows the vegetables to retain their textural integrity and even concentrates their flavor. Served over egg noodles, it is enough to satisfy if not the eternal longing for spring, than at least the more momentary longing for supper.

Rod Teel’s “Pot of Gold” Beef Stew
Adapted from Maxim magazine
This recipe is somewhat time and labor intensive so it’s not ideally suited to a weeknight supper. It does reheat beautifully however, so make a batch over the weekend and you’ll be able to enjoy more than a few weeknight suppers from it.

3 Tb. Canola or olive oil
1 cup flour
2 ½ cups beef chuck, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small shallot or red onion, finely chopped
2 cups dry red wine
2 cups good beef stock
1 handful parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
spice rub (mix 1 teaspoon each granulated garlic, paprika, cayenne, salt, oregano, thyme, you will have some leftover)

2 cups carrots, cubed
1 cup parsnips, cubed
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
3 large potatoes, cubed
1 ½ cups onions, diced
1 cup onion, large wedges
3 slices bacon, small dice
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
2 Tb. Butter
1 Lb. cremini or button mushrooms, quartered
¼ cup heavy cream
2 Tb. Flour

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. Heat oil in a Dutch Oven over moderate heat. Season 1 cup of flour with salt, pepper and 1 Tb. of spice rub. Season beef with salt, pepper, and spice rub. Dredge beef cubes in seasoned flour and brown on all sides in hot oil. Be careful not to overcrowd the oil or the meat will steam. Work in batches removing meat to a plate. When all meat is browned, add minced garlic, shallot and cook for a minute. Add meat back and pour over stock, wine, parsley and bay leaf. Cover and bake for two hours.
3. Once beef is in the oven, combine carrots, parsnip, potatoes, onion wedges and garlic chunks in a shallow roasting pan or baking sheet. Season with salt, pepper and spice rub and drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix and spread out. Roast alongside the meat, uncovered, for 1 ½ to 2 hours, until tender. Remove when tender if beef is not yet finished.
4. Sauté bacon in a dry skillet until fat is rendered. Remove and set aside. Sauté diced onions in bacon fat until soft. Mix in tomato paste and bacon and cook, stirring for a minute.
5. Half-an-hour before the beef is due to be finished, stir in the bacon mixture, re-cover and roast for the remaining time.
6. Melt 1 Tb. butter in a large skillet (same one as the bacon is fine), and sauté the mushrooms over medium heat, seasoning them with salt and pepper until browned. Remove from skillet and set aside.
7. Add other Tb. butter to skillet and melt, sprinkling 2 Tb. flour over to make a light roux. Cook flour in butter, stirring, until it has turned a light caramel color. Add cream and ¾ liquid from the beef pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, to make a thickened sauce.
8. Mix sauce, beef, roasted vegetables, and mushrooms into Dutch Oven to combine. Serve with egg noodles and additional fresh parsley, if you like.

Tofu Challenge:  Lemon Pepper Pasta

I think that this Lemon Pepper Baked Tofu is my favorite Fresh Tofu variety.  The flavor is light and crisp with a little bite, and like all of Fresh Tofu’s baked varieties, the texture is sublimely dense.

The subtleties of this lemon and pepper tofu can get lost in some dishes, so I usually eat it as simply as possible.  Diced into tiny cubes, it’s perfect for a lightly dressed salad, where the taste can shine.  For dinner, they blend perfectly in lemon pepper pasta.

I use a pretty basic and quick recipe; the ingredients are simple and it’s easy to time everything to finish up at once.  That, combined with a barely one-dollar-per-serving price, this dish could easily find it’s way into your weekly menu plan.

Lemon Pepper Tofu and Pasta
serves 6

1 package (7.5 oz) Fresh Tofu’s Lemon Pepper Tofu
1 lb. angel hair pasta
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 lemons
1/3 cup chopped parsley
2 teaspoons plus a dash black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Lemon zest for garnish
Parsley for garnish

Cut lemon pepper tofu into 1/4” cubes.  Heat tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, add tofu and sprinkle with a dash of pepper.  Allow to brown over medium/high heat, tossing often.  Right before removing from heat, squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon into pan, toss and cook for 30 to 60 seconds.  Keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for three to five minutes, or until done; drain.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, parsley and black pepper; stir well.  Toss with pasta. 

Serve pasta with tofu cubes on top, garnish with parsley and lemon zest, pepper and salt to taste.  Serve hot or cold.

Many lemon pepper pasta recipes call for basil rather than parsley, which I plan on trying this summer when the basil comes in from our CSA or garden.  I’d also love to try this tofu over VeganYumYum’s spicy lemon pepper fettuccine or with this lemon pepper cous-cous.  Any non-local veggies you find in lemon pepper recipes could easily be replaced with seasonal ones.  Except of course for the lemon.  Maybe Nicole’s Tuscarora Organic Growers Co-op will come through with some lemony citrus for us?

And now, all this light and airy lemon pepper herb talk has got me jonesing for spring something fierce.  Drool!

Posted for:

Jelly Roll Call

Friday, February 22, 2008

When I moved to an on-campus apartment in college and finally had a kitchen, my parents gave me The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, a wonderful basic cookbook that I still use regularly.  It’s got some leftover-from-the-fifties recipes (pickled shrimp in a crystalline ice bowl?!?), but for any ordinary food like pancakes or cream of mushroom soup or lasagna, it’s useful.  One of its best sections is the one on desserts, so when I realized that we were going to have too much jam left over this season, I went looking for a jelly roll recipe.  Jelly roll is sticky, but it is also soft and squishy and what my Dad used to make for us to eat with tea when I was a little girl. 

I used our “black and blue” jam—blackberries and blueberries we picked last summer.  The other local ingredients were maple sugar, honey (in the jam), and eggs. 

You can see a peek of the maple sugar and the egg yolks behind the bowl of lovely frothy egg whites.  This jelly roll also has flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar, none of which I had local. 

It came out well, not as sweet as you might imagine, given all the different kinds of sugar! 

A Simple Gnocchi

Monday, February 11, 2008

Velvet-textured and feather-light, a plate of sauced gnocchi seems, to me, a perfect winter dish.  Whether dressed in a chunky, wintry tomato sauce with carrots, celery and rosemary, coated in melted gorgonzola and vodka, or simply tossed with parmesan, browned butter and sage, gnocchi is beautifully accommodating to an amazing variety of sauces (these are just my three favorites). 

This is not to say that I’ve found gnocchi to be the easiest thing to master.  On the contrary, I failed miserably at least a dozen teams before coming up with something passable.  Through much trial-and-error (mostly error), I did stumble upon a few simple things to improve consistency and hasten the process.  One, despite the possibility of food mills, I steadfastly refuse to use anything other than my ricer.  It may take a little longer, but the result is always airy and dry, not pasty and wet.  Second, as sacriligious as this sounds, I peel the potatoes and cut them into uniform pieces.  This quickens the cooking time and makes it more uniform (it’s also much easier to throw them in the ricer.)  Finally, I don’t bother shaping them against the tines of a fork.  Yes, I know it’s supposed to improve how they cook and “grab” the sauce, but I can’t be bothered.  I roll them out, cut them, and throw them into the boiling water.  If I were to add another step, I think the whole thing would seem to cumbersome.

For years, I followed Mario Batali’s recipe of 3 pounds of russet potatoes, 2 cups of flour, and 1 egg.  However, I recently discovered Marcella Hazan’s version from her seminal Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.  Unlike Batali’s, there are no eggs (which, she insists, creates a heaviness in the gnocchi), a greater ratio of flour-to-potato, and, most importantly, “old” waxy potatoes are used.  I was daunted a protein-less gnocchi.  How would it hold together?  What would the texture be?  Would they dissolve in the boiling water?  Lured by the possibility of even lighter gnocchi, I took one-and-a-half pounds of kennebec potatoes from my recent Winter Harvest delivery, one-and-a-half cups of King Arthur Flour and created this.

I am not certain if they really are lighter, but they were certainly easier to make.  They also appeal to my sense that a recipe should be as simple and have as few ingredient as possible.  Though, I don’t suppose it’s fair to call that “my” sense: it’s just Italian. 

The humble storage apple…and a cake in it’s honor.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

I, like so many others out there in the wide world, eagerly anticipate my monthly issue of Gourmet. Every day when I arrive home from work, I do the four-limbed dance of unlocking the door and carrying the bags as I attempt to step into the house and simultaneously prevent the cat from darting out of it. All the while my gloves are clamped between my teeth and I’m craning my neck to see if Gourmet has made it’s lovely, if not glamorous, arrival; unceremoniously folded around the bills and shoved through the letter slot.

Every once in a while, it has. And like so many other SEPTA commuters I use my train time to read and to daydream: “What shall I cook this evening?” “This weekend?” “In springtime?”

The truth is that this is a difficult time of year for the local-foodies. It seems that every dream recipe is calling for a different season from the one we’re in. Though Groundhog Day is yet to come, I’m betting on more than a few more weeks of Winter.

In the February issue of Gourmet, there is yet another example of learning to cook differently, this time from Lyon-born Algerian chef, Farid Zadi. “It’s easy to say, ‘Use ripe produce’...but what to do in February with turnips from storage?” Or apples? Or those carrots sprouting in the crisper? Zadi’s answer is to braise his turnips in butter (and what an answer it is!) and then sprinkle them with garlicky breadcrumbs, parsley and poppy seeds.

The best answer I’ve yet come up with for my storage apples is…cake! Once the novelty of applesauce has run out (usually mid-December), I have found no better way to console those bruised, wrinkling, steadfast apples than to slip them into a soothing cloak of cake batter. It’s a well known fact that butter and sugar can make up for a multitude of shortcomings. Plus, turning on the oven warms up the house!

The following recipe is my own not terribly sweet version of an apple bundt cake. They say that you should use firm apples for baking, but I generally use whatever kind I have hangin’ around and lookin’ sorry. We don’t discriminate in this household. Crispin not so crisp? Get in there! Macoun seen better days? You too! And so forth.

Those carrots sprouting in the crisper? We’ll tackle them on tomorrow’s subway ride.

Breakfast Apple Bundt Cake
3-4 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 Tb. sugar
1 ts. cinnamon
3 Cups white flour, sifted (I’ve used two parts white to one part spelt and found the result to be slightly bitter, but go to town! It’s your cake, after all.)
3 ts. baking powder (or 3/4 ts. baking soda and 1 1/2 ts. cream of tartar if you’d like to make your own baking powder)
1/2 ts. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar (white, maple or brown- whatever combination you like)
1 cup clarified butter (or 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup yogurt)
1/4 cup orange juice (replace with just under 1/4 cup apple cider with a dash of apple cider vinegar)
2 1/2 ts. vanilla extract
4 eggs, gently beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour your bundt pan if you have one. Or your 9” cake pans if you don’t.
2. Mix the apples with 1 Tb. sugar and 1 ts. cinnamon and set aside.
3. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl and the clarified butter, eggs, juice and vanilla in another, smaller bowl.
4. Fold all ingredients together, gently incorporating wet into dry, followed by apples into batter.
5. Pour into your prepared pan(s) and bake 45-60 minutes turning once to ensure even coloring.
6. Allow to cool for at least an hour in the pan.
7. Place a plate over the pan and invert to release. Sprinkle powdered sugar over top to emulate snow flurries outside.
8. Cut hearty slices and enjoy for breakfast.

Home fries!

Monday, January 28, 2008

This eclectic collection of Blooming Glen Farm potatoes served fabulously as a yummy breakfast treat on a chilly weekend morning.

So often, I get a little panicky at the thought of actually using my preserved food. I’m pretty sure I get this trait from my dad. He recently admitted to buying canned tomatoes from the market. An appalling revelation due to the fact that a quick look in his pantry reveals oh, approximately four hundred quarts of garden tomatoes he jarred this summer.

I know. I don’t understand it, either. I mean, I get it, I know what he’s thinking—because I’m thinking the same thing—but, it’s still completely illogical. I see Nicole mentions the guilt of using frozen veggies in a previous Farm to Philly post. That’s encouraging, because surely we’re not the only ones… right?

Anyway, somehow I managed to let it all go, and use some potatoes I’ve been hoarding from last season’s CSA shares. I even broke out some frozen peppers and greens, too!

Home fries
Serves 4

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 sliced onion
2 cups julienned peppers (use your preferred combination of mild-to-spicy; bell, poblano, jalapeño, et. al.)
1 packed cup sliced or torn-up greens (kale, spinach, collards)
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 tablespoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups potatoes, sliced or cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Add peppers and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add paprika and cook for 1 minute. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until almost cooked through. Remove cover and continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

These are great sprinkled with some fresh chopped herbs right before serving, I just didn’t have any on hand.

Note too, especially as we find ourselves merely days before Farm to Philly’s exciting and sure-to-be-thrilling Tofu Challenge Month, that these ‘taters are great served with tofu scrambler. Either side-by-side on a plate, or as companions inside a yummy breakfast burrito

Did You Do It?

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Way back in September of last year(!), I wrote a post about drying your own sweet corn, an age-old method of preserving the summer’s harvest in a manner that didn’t take up nearly as much space (or require any fancy equipment) as canning or freezing.  It was something my grandmother had told me about, a story you can read here if you’d like to learn more about food traditions in my Pennsylvania Dutch farming family. 

Now the question is, did you do it?  Did you dry your own corn?  I hope the answer is “yes”, because I have a delightful dish to share that features that crunchy dried corn.  The resulting chewy-but-not-soft texture is very unique and compliments the rather nutty flavor nicely. 

OLD-FASHIONED CREAMY (dried) CORN

2 c. dried sweet corn
2 1/4 c. fat free milk
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
2 t. sugar
2 T. butter
dash of cayenne pepper
freshly ground nutmeg
generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 or 4 strips of cooked (soy) bacon, crumbled
1/4 t. dried marjoram


Place corn in a large heavy saucepan and stir in milk and heavy cream.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to use, stir in the sugar, butter, cayenne, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 35-40 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Place in warmed serving dish and top with crumbled bacon and marjoram.  Serve immediately.

Curried Squash and Potato Soup

Monday, January 07, 2008

One of my favorite winter vegetables is butternut squash, and one of my favorite ways to prepare it is in soup, especially now that we’ve had some actual winter weather.  Last week, I made a batch of soup with squash, potatoes, and carrots, which came out well enough to inspire envy among my coworkers.  The measurements for spices are all approximate—I never really measure things in cooking—but I think the proportions are about right.

Curried Squash and Potato Soup

1 onion, chopped into squares
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 square inch of ginger, minced
1 medium butternut squash, cubed
2 medium potatoes, cubed
3 carrots, chopped
3 cups of vegetable stock
1/2 T cumin seeds
1/2 T brown mustard seeds
1-1/2 T cumin
1 T coriander
1 t cardamon
1-1/2 T garam masala
1/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 dried chile
2 T dried parsley (approx. measure before crushing)
1 T turmeric
1/2 t fenugreek

Heat the oil with cumin seeds and mustard seeds.  When the seeds start to pop, add the onion; when the onion is almost clear, add the garlic and then the ginger.  Start adding ground spices at this point.  Add the potatoes, dried chile, squash, and stock to cover.  Simmer for a few minutes, mostly covered, and then add the carrots.  Adjust spices to taste, and simmer until the veggies are fork-soft, adding stock if necessary.  Purée and serve with a slice of homemade bread. 

Makes approximately 6 main-dish servings.

 

I’m fond of soup that I can eat with a fork, but it wouldn’t be hard to make this thinner if your tastes are different.

Spiced blueberry pancakes

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Over the holiday break, my son had a friend who, last time he was over, I promised blueberry pancakes for breakfast. The blueberries I had on hand were of the preserved Delaware Valley College grown organic sort.  Lucky us!

During the spring and summer weeks, I usually make it to The Market at DelVal College once every week or two to stock up on locally-grown fruits and veggies.  Although some of what I purchase on these trips supplements my CSA produce for meals, I mostly go with a mission to find foods that I will preserve.  Berries and peppers are ridiculously easy to freeze, so often I’ll search for them first.

Choosing foods that are easy to put up makes the weekly chore of preservation simple and fast.  Of course, simple and fast means that my chances of burning out halfway through the season are lessened.  I like the efficiency of this system

The blueberries I used for the boys’ pancakes were purchased in June, on sale for $2.99 for two pints.  Taking them out of the freezer,  I remembered just what a fabulous idea it was to stock up on six pints of these organic, locally-grown dark blue lovelies.  They were absolutely divine, literally bursting with flavor inside the piping-hot pancakes.

Spiced Blueberry Pancakes
Serves 4 (eight pancakes)

1 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil (plus some for pan)
1/3 cup water
1 cup plain rice or soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons real maple syrup (plus some for serving)
1/2 - 3/4 cup blueberries (plus some for serving)

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Reserving the berries, add all other remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add to the wet mixture to the dry mixture, taking care to not overmix.  Let batter sit for ten minutes.  Stir in berries.  Using a ladle, pour scoops of batter into a preheated, well oiled pan or skillet.  When the pancakes start to bubble (about three or four minutes, depending on their size), flip and fry the other side for a minute or two.  Stack pancakes and top with all natural maple syrup and whole blueberries.

In my kitchen, making pancakes is reserved for the less-scheduled and less-rushed weekend mornings.  I usually double or triple the recipe however, so we can eat homemade pancakes during the next couple school/work days.  You know, that way we at least have the illusion of calm and leisurely mornings.  Enjoy!

Summer Meets Winter

Monday, December 31, 2007

What better way to usher in 2008 than with a memory of the sweetest fruit of 2007? I broke into my frozen stash of plump blackberries from our garden to make one of my favorite winter dishes: bread pudding.  I’ve used the basic recipe for sweet and savory bread puddings of all kinds: winter squash, carmelized onion, cranberry, blueberry and, now, blackberry. This last variation is sure to be a favorite and, while so simple to make, seems to be worthy of using the precious summer berries from the freezer.

Blackberry Bread Pudding

1 loaf of challah bread cut into chunks
1 1/2 c. (or more!) of blackberries
6 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
3 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
freshly ground nutmeg

Put half of bread into greased 13x9 baking dish.  Layer berries on top and cover with remaining bread.

In large bowl, whisk eggs with sugar. Gradually whisk in milk, butter and spices. Pour over bread and push down gently. Cover and refrigerate. Overnight is best but an hour will work.

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove covering and bake pudding for 1 hour until puffed and golden.

Happy New Year!

Grilled Ham, Cheese, and Apples

Friday, December 28, 2007

In the lovely holiday lull between Christmas and New Year’s, we’ve been looking to use our time off to tackle a few cooking-related items.  First, either eat or dispose of the leftovers from the multitude of family meals.  Second, prepare some lunches for our inevitable return to work next week.  Third, convert some of the fresh produce in our bursting refrigerator into something more immediately useful during the workweek (e.g., carmelized onions).  Finally, have some experimenting with any and all of the above.

Today’s lunch was no different - bread, apples, butter, cheese and left-over ham served with with a side of lightly dressed baby greens.  It isn’t necessary to use smoked cheddar, but the interplay of it’s smokiness, the salinity of the ham, and sweetness of the apples is really enjoyable.  Also, there is a nice blending of contrasting textures in the crunch of the toasted bread, the creaminess of the melted cheese, the chewiness of the ham, and the crunch of the apples.  It’s a simple addition or two to a classic recipe for something different.

With the exception of the ham, which was leftover from my mother’s Christmas dinner, all items were purchased from Farm to City’s Philadelphia Winter Harvest. 

Grilled Ham, Cheese, and Apples

4 slices, Metropolitan Bakery multigrain loaf, thinly sliced
3 oz., Misty Creek Dairy smoked goat cheddar, thinly sliced
1/2 apple, Kauffman’s Fruit Farm Gold Rush apples, thinly sliced
2 oz., ham, cooked (in the future, I would probably use Meadow Run Farm bacon instead, but I had the ham and needed space in the fridge)
butter, Maplehofe Dairy

Note:  The thinly slices are important for allowing a quick cooking time without burning the bread

Heat a cast-iron pan and cast-iron press (we use Lodge, but any combination of a pan and heated weight is fine - even if it is just a brick wrapped in aluminum foil).  As the pan is heating, assemble the sandwiches.  Butter the outside of each slice of bread (i.e., the surface that will come in contact with the pan or press).  Layer in the bacon, trim to fit if necessary.  Next, add the apples and then the cheese.  Finally, add the the second slice of bread.  By this point, your pan should be sufficiently heated to make the first sandwich.  Lay the sandwich in the pan, cover the press and cook for a few minutes.  Flip and cook for an additional few minutes.  Repeat for the second sandwich.

Celeriac: fugly, hairy, and delicious!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Up until last year, I had no idea what a celery root, aka celeriac, was.  It’s not something that my mother ever served up when I was a kid, and it’s not like they look so appetizing I had to pick one up immediately and try it.  Really, they’re dirty-looking, knobby, gnarly, and hairy.  But I’m happy to say that I overcame my bias against warty-looking food and tried it one day - and now it’s among my favorite vegetables.

This very ugly vegetable is a variety of celery that was bred to have a giant root.  It was first recorded as a food plant in 1623.  And while it’s widely used in Europe, it’s not something overly familiar to most Americans.  I introduced it to my in-laws last year on Thanksgiving by serving a mashed celery root and potato dish.  They are now dedicated fans of the celery root.

Some say it tastes like a combination of celery and parsley.  Some people say jicama.  I think it’s a little bit nutty and sweet.  Whatever the case, if you’ve not tried celery root, I heartily recommend you give it a go.  In addition to being a really nice addition to mashed potatoes, celery root has about 101 uses.  It can be made into a coleslaw-esque remoulade salad, a puree, a yummy soup, or even a hearty gratin.

As with all vegetables, there are some recipes involves celery root I’ve been dying to try.

• Black Bass with Grilled Celery Root and Ginger
• Celery Root Risotto with Pesto
• Celery Root Ravioli

I am particularly interested in a recipe for celery root and Asian pear salad, since both are in season and readily available right now.

Dark Days: Winter Vegetable Chowder

Saturday, December 15, 2007

I practically live on soup in the colder months.  That should be obvious - this is my second Dark Days Challenge meal of the week that was soup...and in truth, both were pots of soup, so I’ve been eating both soups all week.  The pot of soup I just made is my secret weapon soup - it’s always good and uses up whatever Winter vegetables you have on hand.

In my case, that was carrots, turnips, parsnips, and celery root (all picked up from the Fair Food Farmstand).  The recipe calls for four cups of any Winter vegetable.  I’m not sure beets would work, but any other root type of vegetable probably would.

The other thing I really like about this soup is that it gives me a chance to forage in my own back yard - it calls for five crushed juniper berries.  My juniper bushes are full of berries right now!

For all the ingredients in this soup, only a few aren’t local - the salt and pepper.  That’s it!  The parsley, thyme, and bay are from my garden, the vegetables were picked up at the farmstand (except the potatoes, which are leftovers from the last CSA share), the milk and butter are local, the flour is local Daisy flour, I used local raw milk cheddar, and the bread is from Le Bus.

2 c. milk
3 parsley branches
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 onion, sliced
10 peppercorns, slightly crushed
5 juniper berries, slightly crushed
2 Tbsp butter
2 large leeks, chopped
4 c. chopped winter vegetables [I used turnips, celery root, and carrot
3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 small bay leaves
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp flour
slices of sourdough
shaved parmesan cheese

Put milk, parsley stems, thyme, 2 bay leaves, onion, peppercorns, and juniper berries in a saucepan; bring to a boil, remove from heat and let steep while cooking vegetables.

Melt butter in a soup pot over low heat.  Add veggies, 2 bay leaves, parsley, and two pinches of salt; cover and cook for two minutes.  Add flour; stir well.  Add five cups of water; boil.  Lower heat to simmer; cook 20-25 minutes until veggies are fork tender.  Strain milk into soup pot and toss the solids.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place a slice of bread in the bottom of a bowl, sprinkle with shaved parmesan, and ladle soup over bread and cheese.

A word of warning: this is some of the most filling soup ever!

Be it ever so humble, there’s nothing like a turnip

Friday, December 14, 2007

Turnips are plentiful ‘round these parts right now.  The farmer’s markets are just full of them!  Oddly, turnips suffer by reputation with many people.  They allege that turnips are woody, that they’re ugly, that they don’t taste good.  Stop maligning the turnips!  They are delicious and nutritious (high in fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Potassium and Copper), with an interesting history.

Did you know that turnips were originally used to make jack o’lanterns around Halloween?  In Ireland, turnips were hallowed out and lit inside to keep the demons and devils away. 

Despite all that, I’m really in it for the taste.  And, like I said, turnips are delicious - and not just my favorites, the Hakurei turnips.  Regular purple-topped varieties are really great, too!

So what can one do with the turnip, other than use it as a tool of the paranormal?  I like to use them in soup and I know lots of people who are crazy about them simply roasted, but there are lots of possibilities.  They can be pickled, made into custards, transformed into latkes, and even the greens can be used! 

There are two turnip recipes I’ve been dying to try: turnip souffle and warm turnip green dip.  I guess I’ll have to nip out the nearest farmer’s market later and pick up a mess of turnips!

Dark Days: ham and bean soup

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The dried beans I purchased from Margerum’s last month have been hibernating in my kitchen.  In truth, I’ve been a little hesitant to use them.  It’s sort of like that whole thing with Elaine and her “spongeworthy” dilemma from Seinfeld - those dried beans are such a great (and not widely available) commodity that I start to second guess myself when I have a recipe idea.  Is that soup recipe spongeworthy?  Well, you know what I mean.  I just don’t want to waste locally grown dried beans on just any old recipe.

Finally, I got over myself.  I mean, they’re beans and they’re meant to be eaten.  And if I run out of beans and can’t find any more this Winter, I’ll just have to live with it and resolve to stock up for next year.  And then I grabbed up a slab of ham from Country Time Farm in Hamburg, PA and made ham and bean soup. 

It’s been a little warm this December to be true soup weather, but this really hit the spot!

1/2 lb of white beans (Margerum’s)
1 quarts of water
1.5 lb of smoked ham steak with a small pc. of bone, cubed and bone reserved (Country Time Farm)
1/2 cup of diced onions (alas, not local)
1 cup chopped celery (from my CSA share, frozen)
1/2 cup chopped carrots (Lancaster Farm Fresh)
2 cloves garlic, diced (Landisdale Farm)
Salt and pepper
chopped parsley (my garden, dried)

Soak the beans in cold water for about 2 hrs. Drain.

Place all ingredients in a big old soup pot, cover with water and simmer for about an hour and a half.  If you want a thicker soup, cook the beans for about an hour and then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another hour.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

I must admit, I’m kind of excited about the prospect of a Nor’easter coming through on Sunday.  It’s my fervent wish for us all to get snowed in for a couple of days.  We’ve got wood for the fireplace, and lots of soup!