Smoked Salmon & Feta Omelette with Arugula, Shallots, and Baby Chard
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Clam, Corn and Shrimp Chowder
I absolutely adore a good chowder. Here’s another from the files.
Ingredients
1 – 2 dozen fresh quahog or cherrystone clams (can substitute a can of chopped clams if you don’t have enough fresh clams).
1 bottle chardonnay wine
5 or 6 medium red-skin potatoes, quartered.
2 ears corn on the cob
½ pound of medium shrimp, cooked, shells removed, and cut into bite sized pieces.
1 small can mushroom pieces and stems OR 1 8 oz package of mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion
pepper to taste (I go heavy on the pepper).
¾ soup bowl of milk
3 – 4 tablespoons of flour
Instructions
First, make clam broth. Once you have made the clam broth, then make the chowder.
Clam broth:
Pour wine into bottom of steamer pot.
In steamer basket, place clams, potatoes, corn.
Steam until clams open and potatoes and corn are done. Pour yourself a nice cup of clam broth to drink, leave the rest in the steamer pot for the chowder.
Cut corn off of cob. Remove clams from shells, cut clams in half.
Put shells in the garden to look pretty.
Chowder.
Add corn, potatoes, clams, and shrimp to broth. Simmer on low.
Chop the onion into small pieces, sauté in butter and add onion and butter to chowder. If using fresh mushrooms, sauté them with the onion.
Add flour to milk, pour into chowder. Nuke with pepper.
Simmer until its soup, adding more flour to thicken if needed.
December 10, 2005
Taco Mashed Potatoes
This is great for using up leftovers. Kids of all ages will love it. Total comfort food.
Ingredients
3 cups Instant Potato flakes
3 cups cup water
1 cup milk
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup taco seasoned hamburger (use leftovers from a night you make tacos)
1 small tomato, chopped.
Optional (to taste)
Tabasco sauce
Sliced Jalapeno peppers
Instructions
Mix instant potatoes, water, milk, and onion in microwave safe bowl. Top with cheese, tomato, and hamburger
Microwave for several minutes, until hot. Add jalapenos and Tabasco, if desired.
Garlic Scape Pesto
The scape is the flower stalk of a garlic plant.
The scape is the flower stalk of the garlic plant. In Ohio, it appears from mid to late June. You have to cut it while it is curling and before it straightens up and fully flowers, as otherwise the scape will become tough and chewy and the garlic plant will put all it’s energy into the seeds/bulbiles instead of into the garlic bulb. The scape tastes…. garlicky.
Ingredients
10 medium garlic scapes (pencil width and long), chopped small (adjust quantity depending on size).
approx. 1 c. olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans (optional)
1 1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated, or 1 cup parmesan (get the real stuff, not the “in a plastic shaker” parmesan).
Instructions
Mix olive oil, nuts, and scapes in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the cheese.
Serving Suggestions
Serve over pasta, top with sliced and sautéed cherry tomatoes, olives, red and yellow bell pepper.
Serve as a topping on pita bread or crackers.
Put on anything that you would put pesto on.
Warning
May cause severe allergic reactions in vampires.
(Many variations of this recipe can be found all over the web).
Basil and Olive Pesto
This is one of my favorite pesto recipes.
Ingredients
4 or more cups fresh basil leaves
8 cloves garlic
8oz pine nuts
1 10oz jar green olives with pimentos, drained
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp red pepper
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Add basil, garlic, pine nuts, and olives to food processer, grind to a coarse paste. Add remaining ingredients, blend until smooth. Freeze in ice cube trays. Two pesto ice cubes is about right for one serving over pasta.
Serving suggestions:
Spread on homemade bread.
Pizza
Pasta sauce
Brussel Sprouts with Maple Syrup, Red Onion, and Cranberries
Brussel Sprouts with Maple Syrup, Red Onion, and Cranberries
I made this recipe after finding a few recipes for Brussel Sprouts with shallots and dried cranberries while browsing through a few cookbooks and some back issues of Bon Appetit.
As I had FRESH cranberries and red onions NOT dried cranberries, white wine, and shallots in the pantry, variations commenced.
Ingredients
1 pound Brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 bag (8 oz) fresh cranberries
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Minor’s bacon base (optional)
3 or 4 shakes of soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 to 1 1/2 cups turkey, chicken, or vegetable broth
About 1 tablespoon dried orange zest or use fresh.
Instructions
Heat olive oil and bacon base in large skillet.
Place half of the Brussel sprouts in pan, sliced side down.
Drizzle about half the broth over the sprouts.
Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until browned. Turn over to cook other side, and add 1/2 the onions.
Saute until onions are caramelized, about 3-4 minutes.
Remove all to bowl, repeat with remaining sprouts and onions. (May instead use two skillets).
Combine both batches of sprouts and onions in skillet, add cranberries, mix.
drizzle soy sauce and maple syrup over all, stir, cook another another 3-4 minutes.
Can make ahead.
Garlic Scape Soup
Ingredients
7 to 10 scapes, depending on size
3 to 5 small redskin potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks, with skins
2 Tbs olive oil
3 cups of chicken broth
Optional: shredded mozarella or parmesan cheese, day old bread or croutons. (I also use cubed stuffing mix).
7 to 10 scapes, depending on size
3 to 5 small redskin potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks, with skins
2 Tbs olive oil
3 cups of chicken broth
Optional: shredded mozarella or parmesan cheese, day old bread or croutons. (I also use cubed stuffing mix).
Instructions
Cut the scapes into thin rounds. Sauté in olive oil at low heat. Place the potatoes and sautéed garlic in a sauce pan and add chicken broth. Cook covered for about 30 minutes. In food processor puree the soup until it is smooth. Return soup to the saucepan, add more broth until it is at preferred consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste, reheat.
Optional: top with bread or croutons and shredded cheese.
Adapted from recipe at Dakota Garlic, www.dakotagarlic.com (site now defunct)
Catfish, Clam, Shrimp, and Mushroom Chowder
Clam and Catfish Chowder
This recipe is one of several variations I have on my basic clam chowder. I first made this version in 2008.
Ingredients (all measurements approximate: adjust quantities to preference.):
1 smoked turkey leg, or a couple slices of turkey bacon to flavor. (Optional).
1 to 2 cups of chopped frozen Swiss chard
2 dozen fresh cherrystone clams, or substitute 2-3 cans of chopped clams. The Clammier the Better.
1 bottle chardonnay wine
5 or 6 medium red-skin potatoes, quartered.
2 ears corn on the cob
1 to 2 cups of chopped Swiss chard
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 pound catfish, cut into nuggets
½ pound of medium shrimp, cooked, shells removed, and cut into bite sized pieces.
1 6 oz can crab with juice (optional)
1 8 oz package of portabella mushrooms, sliced
olive oil for sauteeing
1 medium to large onion
Old Bay seasoning
pepper to taste (I go heavy on the pepper).
2 ½ cups water
2 ½ cups 2% milk
3 – 4 tablespoons of flour
Instructions
First, make clam broth. If you are using canned clams instead of cherrystone clams, then I recommend Minors Clam Base as an excellent substitute for making clam broth: just add a scant teaspoon of Clam Base per cup of water and wine.
Pour wine into bottom of steamer pot. Add turkey leg if using.
In steamer basket, place clams, potatoes, corn.
Steam until clams open and potatoes and corn are done.
Pour yourself a cup of clam broth to enjoy now, and leave the rest in the steamer pot for the chowder.
Cut corn off of cob. Remove clams from shells, cut clams in half.
Next, Finish up the Chowder
Pan fry catfish, generously dust with Old Bay seasoning, until just barely done.
Chop the onion and mushrooms into small pieces, sauté in butter or olive oil.
In large soup pot, add all ingredients except milk and flour (including the wine and turkey leg)
Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.
Add additional water as needed.
Add flour to milk, pour into chowder.
Simmer until its soup stir frequently, adding more flour to thicken if needed.
Remove turkey leg before using, reserve meat for some other recipe.
Serve with oyster crackers or sourdough bread.
Caribbean Pumpkin Bread
This recipe is a favorite. For the batch in the photo, I used roasted Musquee de Province Fantasy Pumpkin.
I also made my own fig butter (I have a fig tree in my backyard), but if you don’t have a fig tree you can find fig butter at Trader Joes..
Makes 2 loaves. Can be frozen.
Ingredients
1 cup white flour
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1 cup oatmeal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar (can increase to 1 cup if you prefer a sweeter bread)
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup olive oil
4 cups pureed pumpkin
1 cup water
Select any 3 of of the below ingredients. It’s okay to live dangerously and add them all. 🙂
1 bag fresh cranberries, cooked until soft (I microwave them in a large microwave-safe dish with 1/4 cup of water for about 3 minutes).
1 8 oz package chopped dates
1 cup of fig butter or 1 10 oz package of dried figs, stems removed, chopped finely or 2 cups of chopped fresh / frozen figs, chopped finely
2 cups golden raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups coconut
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix first 10 (dry) ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, vanilla, oil, pumpkin, and water. Stir until well blended.
Add your selection from the fruit/berries/nuts list of ingredients. Stir until mixed throughout. For the bread in the photo, I used cranberries, dates, and fig butter.
Pour into two greased bread pans. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven, allow to rest for about 5 minutes, then run a knife along the inside walls of the bread pan to separate the bread from anywhere it might have stuck. Remove from pan and allow to finish cooling.
Do not cut until next day.
Substitutions:
I used fresh roasted pumpkin. If using fresh pumpkin, puree it after cooking. It is fine to substitute canned pumpkin puree or cooked winter squash such as butternut or acorn squash.
Sausage and Leeks Green Gumbo
I was on a Cajun kick for a while. Gumbos are great for getting a veggie blast into your body.
Ingredients
6 cups cabbage, chopped
2 cups mustard greens, chopped
2 cups leeks, chopped
2 cups zucchini, chopped
2 cups portabela or crimini mushrooms, chopped
4 cups chicken broth (I make my own from the carcass after I’ve made roast chicken)
16 oz Chicken Sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 cup okra, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1.5 tbsp cajun seasoning
Southwestern Mills Gravy Mix (if desired)
Instructions
mix all ingredients except gravy mix.
bring to boil
simmer for 90 minutes
Add 1/4 cup gravy mix at a time until thickened to taste, if desired.
Serve with rice or sourdough French baguettes
I vary the ingredients based on what I have from the garden and freezer. This could also be made with andoulle sausage, chicken, shrimp…