Tradition! (orange pear cranberry sauce)

What makes a holiday? The family traditions? The expectations? According to the World English Dictionary a tradition is the body of customs, thought, practices, etc, belonging to a particular country, people, family, or institution over a relatively long period.

This is especially comforting as Thanksgiving rolls around and we remember the traditions that make this holiday special. As my pastor pointed out this morning, not everyone likes Thanksgiving. The symbols of this holiday revolve around food: turkey a bird native to N. America; corn, also native to N. America; and cranberries (you guessed it!) native to N. America. But many people cannot afford to eat lavish meals at the holidays. Some cannot even afford to eat at all. So if you are fortunate enough to have the traditionally holiday spread, give thanks for our countries founding and survival. Give thanks for what is special to you. And remember the violence our country is founded on, and the people less fortunate than you who do not get the lavish Thanksgiving feast. Perhaps you could even donate to a local food bank or volunteer at a soup kitchen!

If you want to change up your feast this year and have cranberry sauce not from a can…here is a wonderful recipe using the best America has to offer.

This is especially comforting as Thanksgiving rolls around and we remember the traditions that make this holiday special. As my pastor pointed out this morning, not everyone likes Thanksgiving. The symbols of this holiday revolve around food: turkey, a bird native to N. America; corn, also native to N. America; potatoes, native to N. America; and cranberries (you guessed it!) native to N. America. But many people cannot afford to eat lavish meals at holidays. Some cannot even afford to eat at all. So if you are fortunate enough to have the traditional holiday spread, give thanks for our countries founding and survival. Give thanks for what is special to you. And remember the violence our country is founded on, and the people less fortunate than you who do not get the lavish Thanksgiving feast. Perhaps you could even donate to a local food bank or volunteer at a soup kitchen!

If you want to change up your feast this year and have cranberry sauce not from a can...here is a wonderful recipe using the best America has to offer.

Orange Pear Cranberry sauce (makes 2 1/2 pints)
Ingredients:
3 oranges
2 c. diced pears (about 4 whole)
3 c. fresh cranberries (1 16 oz bag)
1 1/2 c. red grape juice
1 tsp cardamon
2 tbsp honey
dash salt
2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
From each orange, peel a 1x3 in. strip and put in a large pot. Juice the oranges, and add to the pot along with the grape juice, lemon juice, honey, salt, and cardamon. Bring to boil over medium heat. Add the pears and cranberries. Simmer over med-low heat for about 25 minutes. Remove the orange peel. Let cool to room temperature and serve or refrigerate up to 1 week, or process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Mushroom Cream Sauce

Tonight for dinner Price and I had Alaskan salmon over couscous topped with a mushroom cream sauce. It is important to note the Alaskan part of the salmon, because Alaskan salmon is wild caught. Atlantic or farmed salmon is something no one should ever eat. Not only does it taste icky, it's bad for the environment too! Anyway, while Price and I were at GreenLife grocery this weekend, I pick up a 6oz pack of King Oyster Mushrooms. And so the salmon with a mushroom cream sauce was born. The recipe for the cream sauce is something I picked up this summer while taking a fungi class. It works with most types of mushrooms and is especially good with oyster, king oyster, and shitake mushrooms!

Salmon with a Mushroom Cream Sauce over Couscous
Ingredients for 2:
2 4-6 oz wild salmon filets
1/2 c. couscous
1 tbsp oregano
2 tsp minced onion
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 c. water
6 oz mushrooms, stipes (stems) removed.
1 tbsp butter
1/4 c. white wine
1 tbsp flour
1 c. milk (not skim!)

Directions:
Bring the couscous, oregano, minced onion, 1 tbsp of the olive oil, and water to a boil. Stir once, cover, and set aside off the heat.
Meanwhile, slice the mushroom caps and melt the butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the sliced mushrooms. While they are heating up, add the remaining olive oil to another pan and add the salmon, skin side down. Salt the salmon just a little. Cook the salmon 5-10 minutes until flaky, flipping at least once. Stir the mushrooms around like a stir-fry. Add the wine. Turn up the heat! When the wine has boiled away, whisk the flour into the milk and pour into the mushrooms. Add a little more oregano if desire. Turn the heat to low. When the sauce has reached sauce consistency, dinner is ready (if the salmon is cooked that is!). Fluff the couscous with a fork, spoon half onto each plate. Top with a salmon filet and the mushroom cream sauce.

Enjoy!

Books and Food and Locavores?

Warning: Food is a very personal subject close to many people's hearts. It can be offending to be told that you are not eating "right". This post is not to criticize how people are eating, but to show my opinion on how I eat. If this doesn't work for you, that's ok. But please try to keep an open mind as you read this...and maybe explore a little before you make your decision on where your food comes from.

I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It has to be one of the best books about food that I have ever read. Where Michael Pollan explores our corrupted and non-sustainable food culture in The Ominvore's Dilemma, Kingsolver shows that it is possible to each locally without giving up good food or flavor. She basically said that if there is something wrong with our food system, then let's not support it. It was more work than just going to the grocery store or supermarket, but local they ate. The goal for her family was to eat local food without sacrificing quality. Basically, vegetables and meat from their garden and neighboring farms or the farmer's market, dairy from the closest organic dairy farm, etc. And it worked...and after the year for their project was up, her family didn't want to go back!

After reading The Ominvore's Dilemma I told Price we could eat whatever we wanted, as long as we knew where it came from. Now I have a new project in mind. I might not be able to go quite as local as the Barbara Kingsolver and her family, but this summer, Price and I are going to try and eat locally grown food. There is a local mill that sells flour, a local bakery that uses it to make their breads...There are local produce stands and farmer's markets that sell everything from meat and eggs to veggies and handmade clothing all from within about 150 miles from here. Local can mean 2 miles or 200 depending on the amounts available where you are. But I will try...

And I will start this winter by eating as much nonprocessed food as possible. Who wants to support the overgrown corn and soy industries anyway? If you don't know what I am talking about look it up. I'll even give you a few places to start.

The Ominvore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Food, Inc.

Fast Food Nation

Slow Foods USA

Ark of Taste

Crock Pot Beans, Who Knew?: Butternut Chili

I decided to give soup mixes to some people as Christmas gifts. When you make a soup mix, you use dried beans. I have never tried soup mixes with dried beans. I thought they would be difficult to make. And then I discovered...I don't remember where, that you can make beans in a Crock Pot. While beans can be cooked directly and eaten, they are easier to digest if you soak them first, then cook them. And who knew, you can soak up to 2 cups dried beans in a 3 quart crock pot overnight for yummy beans the next day! 2 cups dried makes 5-6 cups cooked. So after realizing how easy dried beans were...here is a recipe for Butternut Chili. It is vegetarian, but feel free to add meat if you want.

Butternut Chili
Ingredients:
1 cup mixed dry beans (I used kidney, cranberry, and great northern)
1 small diced butternut squash (about 1 cup)
1 lg carrot, diced
4-6 cups V8 or other tomato juice
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp thyme
Cheese, sour cream, and cornbread for serving

Directions:
Soak beans in crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Add the beans and fill 2/3 way full with water. Drain beans into colander. Rinse crock pot. Return beans to crock pot. Add butternut, carrot, V8 and spices. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Stir once while cooking and before serving. Serve over cornbread if desired. Top with cheese and sour cream.

If you want to add meat, reduce beans by 1/3 c. dry. Brown 1/2 lb. ground beef, turkey, pork, or chicken. Drain. Add to crock pot with butternut.

Enjoy!

Take a look at school lunch...

A lot of people, most famously Jamie Oliver and Mrs Q., are taking a look at school lunch. If you are interested in school lunch reform, check out the links below.

Lunch with Mrs. Q.
Fed up with school lunch: the school lunch project.

From the Files of Mrs. Q: Teacher Eats School Lunch, Blogs Result (abc article)

Jamie Oliver on HULU
Jamie Oliver's website
Jamie Oliver: Food Revolution

There are plenty of people interested in school lunch reform, Jamie Oliver and Mrs. Q are just a start...and they link to other people.

Food for the Home Cook: Apple Chewies

I am not a chef. While some of these recipes are adapted from existing recipes, many of them are my own creation...no recipe in sight. Others have been so changed from their original that I doubt if I told the creator I based a recipe off theirs that they would recognize it. I just love to cook. More than that, I love the challenge of cooking with seasonal ingredients, or like now, when there are few veggies in season, seeing what I can make with the ingredients I have on hand. It is fun to me to do a big grocery shop at the beginning of the month, brimming with ideas, knowing I will change what I make, and see how long I can go before the next "big shop". Only picking up something small (like sour cream today) to complement the final product. All of these recipes should be accessible to the home cook. To people without gourmet food stores or weird ingredients. Most are simple, but a few like the one below, require intermediate knowledge. But if you are a beginner, it's ok to dive in. What's the worst that can happen? You feed the result to the dog (p.s. this is a dog safe recipe!).

Anyway, enough rambling. After a meal of butternut chili (for another post) and homemade corn bread, we had APPLE CHEWIES!

Apple Chewies (makes about 3 dozen cookies)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 lg egg, at room temp
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 c. rolled oats or multigrain hot cereal (this is what I used)
3 small apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix first 4 ingredients together, set aside.
Measure out oats, set aside.
In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until creamy about 2 minutes.
Add egg, vanilla, and milk. Mix until smooth.
Stir in oats and apples. Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

It's amazing! Price and I have been so busy the last few weeks that I haven't been home to cook. Not to say I didn't cook. I made a bunch of Halloween snacks for my annual halloween party. But to cook two meals at home in a row? I think it might be a record (just kidding!). Anyway, with a major cold front coming in, what could I make but soup? (Price chose soup, I chose the type). I was trying to think of what I could make with the ingredients already at my house, especially the ones about to expire (think bacon). What better soup for bacon than potato? So here is my healthy version of loaded baked potato soup. (Warning: while this soup is absolutely delicious, it takes about an hour to make)

Loaded Baked Potato Soup (serves 2, but feel free to double it!)
Ingredients:
3 medium to small russet baking potatoes
1 large carrot
1 c. broccoli, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried savory (or marjoram)
1 tsp dried thyme
dash cayenne pepper
dash ground black pepper
2 cups milk
3 tbsp all-purpose flour (I used a mix of whole wheat and regular)
Shredded Cheese blend for serving
Bacon Bits for serving

Directions:
Peel and dice the potatoes and carrot. Put in a pot of cold water with the salt, boil until tender, about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, steam the broccoli in the microwave or blanch briefly (boil water, add broccoli, remove from heat, let sit 3 minutes, drain, run under cold water to stop cooking). Drain the potatoes and carrot, mash lightly with a potato masher to get small chunks. Add the milk, seasonings, and flour. Whisk briskly over medium heat until flour has dissolved. Add the broccoli. Heat, stirring occasionally, until warm. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with cheese and bacon.

I found this recipe to go well with stewed apples, but if you have another idea, feel free to use it!

Enjoy!

A Different Kind of Pasta

When I asked Price what he wanted for dinner last night, he told me "Pasta with Shrimp" So...Here is what I came up with. Not only is it easy. It's yummy too!

Spaghetti Alfredo with Shrimp and Broccoli (serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 box thin whole wheat spaghetti
1 bag frozen broccoli steamers (green giant)
1 jar (15 oz) Alfredo
2 cups frozen precooked deveined shrimp
smidge of chipotle chili powder

Directions:
Boil pasta according to package directions for "al dente". Meanwhile, microwave the broccoli according to the package. In a skillet, add the shrimp and chipotle chili powder. Cook until heated through. In a small sauce pot, heat the alfredo. When all ingredients are cooked, drain the pasta and mix in the remaining ingredients, in this order: alfredo, broccoli, and shrimp. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!