Ground Beef and Vegetable Soup - Mmmm Mmmm Good.

Because I wasn't about to give my leftover fluffy dinner rolls to the chickens and because our weather has been winter-like, I knew I needed to make a soup for dinner. I've been experimenting with grinding stew meat into ground beef, so I wanted a soup that cooked long and slow and involved ground beef. I found a recipe for a ground beef vegetable soup on allrecipes.com and tweaked it a bit to incorporate to the flavors I prefer and because it seemed a little bland. It got two thumbs up from Derek at the end so I know it's good.
I do think you could through all different kinds of veg into this soup - it would be a good 'use it up' pot of goodness.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
2 carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
15 oz can tomato sauce (I used chopped tomatoes and whirled half for sauce, and kept the other half diced)
8 oz frozen peas
8 oz frozen corn
2 bay leaves
4 thyme springs
1 T dried oregano
1 parmesan cheese rind (what you don't keep yours? Keep them from now on! They give soups a lovely depth of flavor)
4 cups stock (I used turkey because that's what I had)

Directions:

- Crumble ground beef into a stockpot over medium-high heat; cook and stir until beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and discard any excess grease.

- Stir carrots, celery, and onion into the ground beef; cook and stir until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes, tomato sauce (and chopped tomatoes if using), peas, corn and rind to the pot; season with salt and black pepper. Stir mixture until evenly mixed. Add thyme, oregano and bay leaf to the pot. Pour stock over everything, cover and simmer for at least an hour.

 

 

 

Seriously Ready in an Hour Dinner Rolls

Fluffy, slathered with butter (oh yeah, I'm supposed to be eating healthy right? Whoops), these were so good, Jacob ate two!
And they really were ready in an hour. Thank you cookingclassy.com for the recipe!! You made my whim for dinner rolls not a whim at all.

Ingredients

• 3 3/4 - 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp rapid rise yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup cool water
• 2/3 cup milk
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced into 1 Tbsp pieces, plus more for tops
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Directions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer whisk together 4 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt.
• To a medium bowl add water, milk and butter and heat in microwave on HIGH power until it reaches 115 degrees on a thermometer, about 1 minute 15 seconds. Stir to partially melt butter (you just want to make sure it's softened through).
• Pour milk mixture into dry mixture in bowl of electric stand mixer along with lemon juice. Set mixer with a hook attachment then set mixer on low speed and gradually increase to medium-low, knead about 3 - 4 minutes until smooth and elastic while adding additional flour as necessary (dough should be lightly sticky but manageable).
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
• Drop dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into an evenly level square, about 9 by 9-inches. Cut into 16 equal portions (don't have to be exact). Shape dough into 15 balls, while using excess dough from the 16th portion to add to smaller rounds as needed, and place shaped dough portions into prepared baking dish.
• Dampen hands with water and brush tops of dough with the water (just so they don't dry while rising in oven). Transfer to oven, close oven and turn oven off, allow rolls to rise 20 minutes (don't open oven door). Remove from oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees (this should take about 5 minutes, so just allow rolls to rest on counter while oven preheats).
• Bake in preheated oven 14 - 16 minutes until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and run the top of a stick of butter along tops of rolls just to coat. Serve warm. Store in an airtight container (I recommend rewarming cool rolls in microwave for best results.

Have Mercy Chocolate Cake

Ohhhhhhh - cake. Chocolate cake. With thick dreamy frosting. I didn't want much for Mother's Day but I did want an intense, incredible chocolate cake. J is allergic to eggs and, since I actually wanted to share my cake, I needed an egg-free cake worthy of Mother. Yes, I AM a LOTR geek :)

Well if you're looking for a deeeevine egg-free chocolate cake it has to be Wacky Cake. Now I have no idea if the Depression era story behind it is true, but it's a great little tale for an awesome cake.
This cake is only as good as the cocoa that goes into it so don't make it with that Hersheys stuff - go deep dark and intense. I personally love Guittard's cocoa rouge for baking.

The buttercream recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and it's the best buttercream I've ever made. And you make it in the Cuisinart. How did I not know you can make perfect buttercream in the Cuisinart?!

**note - this cake is SO easy to make, it's perfect for little fingers to help with the mixing**

Wacky or 'Have Mercy' Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 heaping  tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

¹⁄₂ teaspoon  salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon apple cider or white vinegar

5 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup water, cold

1/2 cup chocolate chips (because why not more chocolate?)

 

Directions:

 

- Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt.
- Make three wells in the flour mixture.
- In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil.
- Pour 1 c cold water over all and stir till thoroughly combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour into greased 8 x 8-inch pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs (not batter).
- Cool on wire rack.
- Frost when cool.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

 

Ingredients:

2 ounces (55 grams) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar (sifted if lumpy)
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of fine sea salt (optional)
1 tablespoons cream or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions:

 

- Place frosting ingredients in a food processor and run machine to mix.

- Scrape down bowl then process just until smooth and somewhat fluffed.

- Scoop the frosting onto the cooled chocolate cake and swirl it around.

 

And now I want chocolate cake - good thing I have some frozen!!

Fruit Snack Bars

I'm always looking for replacements for the kidz cliff bars and various granola bars my son adores. I use them as a snack before his after school activities when he's hungry and needs something to eat but nothing so big as to ruin dinner. I found this recipe on The Smitten Kitchen (one of my very, very, favorite recipe blogs) under the title 'Fruit Breakfast Bars'.

I only switched it up by making it with frozen organic blueberries because they were $2.50 at Trader Joes versus $8 frozen organic raspberries at Safeway. I'd say I would use our fresh raspberries when we get some but that would be a lie. I'm not using our fresh berries for anything but eating straight! I also added about 2t corn starch to the blueberries because they were pretty liquid and I was worried they would cook up too runny. When I layered the blueberries on, I left most of the liquid in the bowl.

These are excellent at holding together in a bar form (so many things I make get crumbly) and so far they have frozen very well and then defrosted perfectly for his afternoon snack. They're definitely on the sweet side (even though I cut back the brown sugar by 1/4 cup [accidentally but it worked]) but they probably don't have much more sugar than a store-bought bar. He loves them and we had fun making them together so it's a win-win!

For the crust and crumb:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (I accidentally used 3/4)
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the berry filling:
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound berries (blackberries, raspberries or blueberries), fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Make the crust and crumb: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan (I used my ceramic pan and it was just fine). Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.
Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hans or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.
Make the raspberry filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the berries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.

Assemble and bake the bars: Spread the berry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days or wrapped and frozen.

Pasta with Green Puttanesca Sauce

When we were back in Boston for Passover, my aunt Juli commented, as we were serving up olives for Passover dinner (it's supposed to symbolize peace in the Middle East) that the olives reminded her of a green puttanesca sauce she'd made. She sent me the recipe and OH WOW! Delicious! Outstanding. So super simple and easy, the sauce can literally be made while you're boiling the pasta.
It would definitely be good with a meat added (maybe Italian sausage or salami) but we liked it just as is. The breadcrumbs were my addition, because everything tastes better with breadcrumbs.

recipe originally posted in the NY Times

Pasta with Green Puttanesca Sauce

1 lb. spaghetti
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
10 anchovy fillets (I used a squeeze from a tube of anchovy puree as I find it easier to keep on hand)
1/4 cup drained capers
1 cup pitted and sliced Cerignola or Picholine olives
6-8 garlic cloves (the original recipe called for green garlic but I like the simplicity of regular garlic)
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and light green parts
pinch red pepper flakes
12 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
toasted breadcrumbs

Cook the pasta till al dente. Drain but keep some pasta water in case you need it later.

While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the anchovies and capers and cook, stirring, till the capers start turning brown. Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, olives, scallions, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the garlic is golden, about 3-5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Add the pasta and toss until the pasta is coated with the sauce. Add pasta water if the sauce seems dry. Remove from heat, add the basil and breadcrumbs and serve.

Asparagus risotto

Made this last night on a whim because I had beef broth and asparagus that needed to be used and quickly. Boy do I love risotto and I always forget how easy it is to make.

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine (though I used rose because that's what I had)

About 4 cups beef stock (or chicken or veg)

1 pound asparagus, trimmed, tips cut off, tough skins of the spears peeled (if working with thick spears), and the spears cut into thin disks

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 T butter

Salt and pepper

 

Directions:

• In a 3 or 4 quart saucepan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent and starting to turn golden. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring until nicely coated.

• While the onions are cooking, bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add asparagus, cook for a couple of minutes then drain.
 
• Add the wine to the rice/onion mixture. Slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup of hot stock to the rice. Continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, adding more stock in 1/2 cup increments. Stir often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 20-25 minutes.**

• Gently stir in the asparagus and Parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

** Note the stock amount given is approximate. You may need a little more or less. If you end up needing more stock and you find yourself without, just use water.

Skirt Steak with Chimuchurri Sauce

Grilled steak with chimichurri just sings of summer to me. Yum!

Ingredients:

For steak:

1 1/2 pounds trimmed skirt or flank steak

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

For chimichurri:

1 large garlic clove

1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro

1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

 

Directions:

 

For steak:

• Pat steak dry. Stir together 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, coriander, and pepper in a small bowl and rub mixture onto both sides of steak. Grill until desired doneness. You can also broil it by placing steak on a broiler pan about 4 inches from heat 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.

For chimichurri:

• Meanwhile, with motor running, add garlic to a food processor and finely chop. Add cilantro, parsley, vinegar, oil, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, then pulse until herbs are finely chopped. Serve with grilled steak.

 

Sufferin' Succotash

I totally made this up. There are about as many different succotash recipes out there as there are people in the South and they all make them differently and they all swear their Mama's recipe is the best. I make no such claim but it was really tasty and easy. And no okra. I don't do okra (unless maybe it's deep fried, I'll eat almost anything deep fried).

Leftovers and yes I like my bacon crispy
(the bacon itself is actually quite dark, it's not burned I swear)

Served 2 adults and a little kid

Ingredients:

4 sliced thick cut bacon (I used the black forest bacon from Whole Foods)
1.5 cups frozen lima beans
1.5 cups corn
14 oz can peeled plum tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Slice bacon into 1/4 inch slices. Fry pieces in a large skillet (cast iron if you have it). Remove and keep the bacon fat left in the skillet. You can pour out the fat if you wish but it's flavor (as D says).
• Defrost the lima beans and corn by boiling for a couple of minutes. Drain well. Add the beans, corn and tomatoes to the grease in the skillet. Cook over low heat for at least 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the bacon pieces sprinkled over.

Catalan Spinach

Looking for something to round out our tapas meal, I searched for a spinach recipe and came across this one. Perfect, easy and I love currants and pine nuts. It's another one that I wish we had leftovers from! This fed two adults.

Ingredients:

2 bunches fresh spinach, washed thoroughly
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
3 T pine nuts

3 T dried currants or raisins

Olive oil

 

Directions:

• Steam the spinach for only 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and allow to drain thoroughly.
• Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil to cover the bottom of a large frying pan. Heat pan on medium and sauté garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add the currants and pine nuts to the pan and continue to sauté for 1 minute. Add the drained spinach to the pan and mix well, coating with oil. Salt to taste. 

 

Patatas Bravas (Spanish Potatoes Roasted in Tomato Sauce)

Potatoes. You can't go wrong with potatoes. Potatoes baked in tomato sauce?  They taste as good as they look. Seriously. We were all eating them out of the bowl as they cooled on the counter. YUM! The original recipe called for hot sauce but I left it out (for J).
This will make enough for 4 adults tapas style (but I'd make more, I wish I had). This will make plenty of sauce so plan on having leftover. Maybe for a second batch the next day just for yourself...

Ingredients:

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch chunks

Olive oil

Salt

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup white wine

2 Tbsp tomato paste

14-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss the potatoes with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and salt well. Arrange in one layer in a casserole pan or rimmed baking tray and roast until browned, about 50 minutes.
• While the potatoes are roasting, make the sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pot set over medium-high heat. Saute the chopped onions, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, or until they begin to brown on the edges. Add the garlic and saute another 2 minutes.
• Add the white wine to the pan and turn the heat to high. Boil on a high boil until the wine is reduced by half, then add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and smoked paprika. Stir well and reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Let the sauce cook slowly while the potatoes roast.  Carefully puree in a blender.
• When the potatoes are well browned, toss with the tomato sauce and return to the casserole pan. Continue to roast until the tomato sauce dries out a bit on the potatoes and caramelizes, about 10 minutes.

 

 

Spanish Meatballs (Albondigas) in Tomato Sauce

Our first night in Pebble Beach we went to dinner at a tapas restaurant and the food was so amazing and delicious that I decided to try making some at home. Now I'd never made tapas before but I'm a big fan of watching Spanish-oriented cooking shows and I had a vague idea of what I'd like to make. Albondigas was top of the list. There's a Mexican soup of the same name but I was looking for light meatballs in a tomato sauce - the Spanish tapas version.

I read over several recipes and sort of merged them together to make this one. All the recipes called for egg which I left out (due to allergies). They were delicious! I will definitely be making them again. The amount made would feed 4 adults tapas style.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef mince
1/2 onion
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
2 slices stale bread
milk
flour
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper
olive oil

Directions:

Assemble the meatballs:

• Crush 2 cloves of garlic with the parsley and mix with a dash of white wine. Place this mixture in a large bowl with the ground beef, mix well and let stand for 20 minutes.
• Place the bread in a shallow dish and cover with the milk. Let soak for a few minutes.
• Add the bread, salt and pepper to the beef mixture and knead until all the ingredients are mixed together.
• Make small balls and roll each one in flour. Cook in plenty of hot oil until they turn golden brown, drain and place in a casserole dish.

Make the sauce:

• Add a little oil to the pan you used to saute the meatballs. Add the onion and garlic and gently fry until they begin to brown.
• Add the diced tomatoes and about half a cup of white wine (drink the other half).
• Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes then puree (or leave whole if you prefer a chunky sauce)
• Pour the sauce over the meatballs and then place in a 375 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
• Serve with fresh bread to dip in the sauce (we used grilled pizza dough)

Pizza dough

I was putting J down for his nap when suddenly, out of the blue, I had a craving for cheese pizza. We haven't had a homemade pizza in a long time! During football season, we make pizza every Monday night. J calls it 'Monday night pizza and football night' and gets very excited about it. Which I finally doubly funny since he doesn't even really like pizza (yet). The dough is so easy to make and comes together very quickly - it's (almost) as fast as ordering a pizza delivery!

For one 14" thin crust pizza (recipe can be easily doubled)
Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 T olive oil
1 1/4 t yeast
3/4 cups warm water
small squeeze of honey

Directions:

• Combine yeast, honey and warm water and let rest until the yeast is foamy (about 5 minutes).
• In the bowl of your food processor, combine the flour and salt.
• Stir up the yeast/water mixture and add the olive oil.
• With the blade running, slowly pour in the yeast mixture. If the dough is too wet, add more flour, if it's too dry, add water. Whirl until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Leave in the bowl of the food processor and let rise for about an hour or until doubled.
• Remove dough and form into a pizza shape (I use my hands, a rolling pin and my fingers to stretch the dough) and top with your favorite toppings.

* I shape mine on a bread peel and bake it on a pizza stone - pretty tasty that way (and it makes me feel slightly Italian).

Whole Wheat Bread

While I was growing up, the majority of my friends had their sandwiches prepared with Wonder bread. My sandwiches were made with my moms amazing homemade breads. I will not tell you which I would have preferred to have as a kid but lets just say my eyes are rolling at my juvenile self.
Now, as a much wiser adult, I love baking bread. I make whole wheat and sourdough on a regular basis and am interested in exploring other varieties and expanding my repertoire.

Whole wheat bread is one of those wonderful kitchen sink types of breads where you can muck about with measurements and amounts and put all different kinds of things in it depending on your mood. I use either water or whey (if I've made cheese) and I've varied the the amounts of the different flours I have put in as well. You can leave the wheat germ out and add flax seed. You can also add sunflower seeds, sesame seeds or whatever type of nut you want. It really depends on what you're feeling like that day. Get the basics down and then explore.

Ingredients:
 

2 1/2 cups warm water

1 T + 1 t active dry yeast
1 T raw honey
1 T unsulphured molasses
3.5 cups unbleached white flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
.5 cups wheat germ
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 T olive oil
Sunflower seeds, nuts, etc

Directions:

• Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast and honey til foamy. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Put the yeast mixture, rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the mixer with the dough hook. Add the molasses, wheat germ, salt and olive oil. Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour. If using seeds or nuts, add now.
• Increase speed and scrape down the sides until the dough comes together (if it doesn't, add a tbsp of flour at a time til it does, if it's too dry, add water.) Mix at medium speed for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic
• Turn dough out and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or beeswax canvas and let sit at room temp for 45 minutes to an hour, until it has doubled in size. The colder your kitchen is, the longer it will take for the bread to rise.
• Oil two loaf pans (I like my glass Pyrex ones). Deflate the dough, cut in half and turn out. Roll the first section out into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle and with the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds like a sheet of paper to go into an envelope, creating a roll. Pinch the seam closed, and pinch the ends enough so it will fit in the loaf pan. Press it to try and get any air bubbles in the creases out. Drop into the loaf pan seam side down, and repeat with the next section.
• Cover the loaves with a kitchen towel and allow to rise again in a warm place until they double in size.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes until they are honey brown. Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool.

* Tip - the recipe can be cut in half easily. The loaves also freeze very well.

Kombucha Making - Makers, Bakers and Fermenters Society

My friend Kombucha Mama (not her real name) came over yesterday to show me how to make kombucha, which is basically fermented tea. Now kombucha is definitely a rather trendy drink (judging by the racks of it at Whole Foods and similar places) and I make no claim as the viability of all the health benefits it's purported to posses but D and J both love it and I'm happy to make almost anything the menfolk like that much. Almost. If J starts walking on water or glowing, I'm cutting back. Also, kombucha is seriously fun to say.

I was intimidated at the beginning because it seems to be....involved? Time consuming? Complicated? It's actually none of those things. It's super simple though it helps if you have a friend who is already into making kombucha and who doesn't mind giving you a SCOBY (thanks KM!)

Ingredients:

Seed mat for keeping a constant heat (available at Amazon)
A gallon glass jar (Mine is actually 3 liters)
A SCOBY (from a friend who makes kombucha) if you don't have a friend (who makes kombucha, I'm sure you have a friend), you can order a SCOBY here
2 qt + of organic kombucha, either from your friend or purchased (this will help keep the kombucha at the right PH)
Green tea, I used Eden brands Sencha
Black tea, I used Eden brands Kukicha
Organic non-GMO Sugar
Glass quart jar to pour the kombucha into when it's done fermenting

Directions:

• Boil 1/2 gallon of water to release the chlorine
• While the water is hot, make a 'feeder tea' by steeping 1 t each of black and green tea (use a tea ball or unbleached tea bags) and 1/2 cup sugar. Let steep until the tea cools to around 80-90 degrees (comfortable to put your hand into it).
• When the starter tea is at the right temp. Fill the gallon jar at least half full with kombucha and add your SCOBY. Fill the rest of the jar with the starter tea leaving about three fingers of breathing room.

Kombucha Mama fishing out the SCOBY from her batch

• Cover jar with a clean cloth and put a rubber band around the top.

• Place in a warm dark spot on top of the seed mat
• You can start checking your kombucha after 3 days.*
• Fermentation will depend on the strength of the SCOBY and the temperature the kombucha is kept at (warmer = faster fermentation) What you're looking for is the typical effervescence and sour/vinegar flavor of kombucha. You shouldn't taste the sweet tea at all. When the kombucha has hit the flavor strength that you like, pour half of it off into your glass quart jar. Brew another batch of feeder tea and start all over again.
• If you want to make fruit flavored kombucha, add fruit juice or a couple of strawberries, some raspberries, blackberries or whatever you like into the container you siphoned off the kombucha to drink into. Do NOT put fruit into the 'mother' kombucha. Leave room at the top of the container for the 'fizz', at least a few fingers.

*A straw is a good tool for this.

**Do not use metal utensils when making kombucha, plastic or wood are ok.

*** Food Renegade has a TON of information on brewing kombucha

The teas I used - I purchased them at a local health food store

The SCOBY - yes, it looks like a science experiment gone very wrong

Homemade Granola

There is absolutely no reason to buy the insanely expensive packaged granola from the grocery store. Granola is incredibly easy to make, you can put anything you want into it and it is delicious over yogurt or eaten on it's own. Once you have the basics down, you can pretty much add what you want and change the flavors to mirror your tastes. (It also makes a great gift.)

My big helper :) Though he eats more than he stirs....

Ingredients:

9 cups organic rolled oats, uncooked (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup organic wheat germ or ground flax seed
2 cups sliced almonds, pecans or walnuts
1 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds raw or toasted (definitely unsalted)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pure maple syrup (I have used a combination of maple syrup and honey before)

3-5 cups mixed dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, diced pineapple, diced apricots, chopped dates, really it's the mixture of your choice).

Directions:

• In a very large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ or flax seed, nuts, and seeds. Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, salt and maple syrup. Pour over the dry mixture in the bowl, stirring and tossing till everything is very well combined.
• Spread granola over a couple of  half-sheet pans. Bake in a preheated 250°F oven for about 90 minutes, stirring the mixture with a heatproof spatula every 20 minutes or so. You want to bring the granola at the edge in towards the middle, so it all browns evenly.
• When the granola is a light–to–medium golden brown, remove it from the oven and cool completely on the pans. Transfer the granola to a large bowl, and mix in the dried fruit*. Store in a tightly closed container at room temperature for several weeks; freeze for extended storage.

* I don't mix in the fruit unless I'm giving the granola as a gift or am taking it on the road. I prefer to add whatever dried fruit I want at the time of serving. It works well either way.

Beef and Barley Soup

In solidarity with our friends and family who are snowed in (literally) back east, I made this soup yesterday to warm us up. Not that we need that much warming up, D is currently wearing shorts. Of course he would wear shorts in a blizzard so there you go.

Beef and barley has to be one of my very favorite soups. This cooks up super thick so keep some broth around to thin as needed. It also freezes very well. Adapted from the New England Soup Company Cookbook.

Ingredients:

Beef:
3 lbs grass fed beef stew meat
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
12 cups of water
2 t salt

Soup:
3 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
Cooked stew meat
1/2 lb pearl barley
1 cup red wine (I used an inexpensive Bordeaux)
8 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
4 cups beef bone broth
4 cups broth reserved from cooking the beef *
2 bay leaves

Directions:

• For the beef: Place the beef, water, vinegar and salt in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1.5 hours. Drain and reserve the broth. Cut up the beef into bite size pieces.
• For the soup: Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, onion, celery and carrots. Saute until translucent.
• Add the cooked beef, barley, wine, tomato paste, stock, reserved broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 1.25 hours, stirring occasionally.

* I loved the way the broth tasted after the meat was cooked in it. It's tangy and very lightly beefy. I used half in the soup and the other half to make a pot roast. You can also use it for thinning the soup the next day.

Sausage Minestrone

Oh yeah, this was good enough for me to delve back into my brain and remember what exactly it was that I did to make it this good.

Based on the Sausage Minestrone from the New England Soup Factory Cookbook though I just took the basic recipe and ran. The best thing about minestrone is that it's pretty much a kitchen sink soup. I can't think of anything you could add that wouldn't end up tasting good. The main flavor components of this soup are the sausage* and cheesy tomato broth. Once you have those as a base, you can pretty much add what you want.

* A moment please in praise of heavenly sausage. We started buying ours from a local rancher and, seriously, they are a taste sensation unlike any other. The difference between these sausages and the ones from Trader Joes or even Whole Foods is immense. The pork is from pastured hogs and it is unbelievable. It makes any dish it's in that much better. It takes the ordinary to the sublime. I will drive 3 hours round trip to buy their sausages. They're that good. Find thee a local producer and you can thank me later.

Sorry this picture is in the 'cooling down bowl' but we devoured our portions very quickly!

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian sausage
1 lb hot Italian sausage
3 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery ribs, diced
8 carrots, peeled and sliced (I added more carrots because J loves carrots)
1 T tomato paste
1 - 28 oz can peeled tomatoes (I used 2 pints home canned)
8 cups chicken bone broth (or stock)
4 cups tomato juice
4 cups bean broth (from cooking the dried beans, you can also use additional chicken broth)
2 bay leaves
3 - 16 oz cans of assorted beans (I used a mixture of dried Christmas lima, borlotti and chickpeas - really any type of bean will work here and cooking them from dried is much better flavor-wise)
3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups winter squash, peeled and cubed
Parmesan cheese rind
3 cups kale or chard, sliced thinly
pasta

Directions:

• In a very large stock pot, saute first the mild Italian sausage over medium heat till brown and remove to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Then saute the hot Italian sausage till brown and remove to the same bowl using a slotted spoon.
• Add the 3 T olive oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery and carrots. Saute until starting to turn golden brown and the onion has softened. Push the veg to the side of the pot and add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Mix the veg into the tomato past and stir to coat.
• Add the tomatoes and their juices, stock, bean broth, tomato juice, bay leaves, beans, potatoes, squash, cheese rind and 1/3 of the cooked sausage to the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low and let the pot simmer for 40 minutes. Add more stock or bean broth if needed.
• Remove the bay leaves and cheese rind and stir in the greens and remaining 2/3 sausage.
• Meanwhile cook the pasta in salted water until al dente.
• Serve the soup over the pasta with grated Parmesan or Romano

Tip: Keep the pasta separate from the soup until you're ready to serve. If you let the pasta sit in the soup it will just soak up the liquid and become a big mush. When I store minestrone, I never refrigerate or freeze it with pasta in it. Cook the pasta fresh each time.

Lentil soup with sausage and greens

I knew as soon as I saw this recipe that it must be made in my kitchen. Anyone who knows me, knows how I love and worship The Smitten Kitchen blog, and for so many, many worthy reasons. This soup is one of them. It's rich, a little zesty, deep with flavor and thick and hearty. I made a few changes, but not many.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil, divided
4 large links of sweet Italian sausage, divided and casings removed
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
4+  medium carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons or diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced (reserve half for later in recipe)
Salt
A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup brown or green lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 bay leaves
32 ounces peeled tomatoes (I used home-canned but you can use canned)
6 cups water
Freshly ground black pepper
4 - 5 cups shredded or thinly sliced chard leaves and/or kale (I also threw in some spinach)
Parmesan or Romano rind
Grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese to finish

Directions:

• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pot) in a large pot on medium heat. When hot, add half of the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown, about five minutes.
• Add the onion, celery, carrots, first two garlic cloves, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook with the sausage until the vegetables soften a bit, another 5 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, water, cheese rind, more salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook, uncovered, until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. (It might be necessary to add more water if the soup gets too thick, though we like ours on the thick side.)
• When the lentils are cooked, add the greens and cook until the leaves are tender, just a few minutes more. Discard the bay leaves.
• While the soup is cooking, cook the second half of the sausage until brown and delicious.
• To finish, add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 garlic cloves to a small skillet and heat over medium until the garlic softens and hisses. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with the hot olive oil and top with sausage and grated cheese.

Pasta and white beans with garlic rosemary oil

This recipe was fate, kismet, the meeting of recipe and cupboard. When I read the ingredients list and saw that SK had used Alubia Blanca beans from Rancho Gordo and then I went to my bean cupboard (what you don't have a bean cupboard?) and the bag right in front was Albubia Blanca, well, as I said, kismet.
It turned out every bit as delicious as I thought it would. I didn't make many changes from the original recipe, I halved some parts of the recipe, added bacon because beans and bacon could be their own food group and I increased the amount of beans because the boy is a big fan of beans. I also made fresh pasta though dried would be perfect of course. Not many people are as crazy as I am ;)

Ingredients:

1/2 medium onion, cut into big chunks
1 medium carrot, in big chunks
1 celery stalk, in big chunks
4 garlic cloves, 3 left whole, 1 finely chopped
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/8 t crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
Coarse salt
2 T tomato paste
3 1/2 cups cooked, drained beans (save cooking liquid for water in recipe, if desired) or 2 15-ounce cans small white beans, rinsed
1/2 pound short tube pasta
1 T minced fresh rosemary
4 slices crisp bacon, crumbled

Directions:

• Pulse onion, carrot, celery, whole garlic cloves, parsley, and red pepper flakes (to taste) in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat and add vegetable mixture to pot. (Quickly rinse, but no need to fully wash, food processor as you’ll use it again shortly.) Season generously with salt. Cook, stirring from time to time, until vegetables take on a bit of color, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste. and cook it into the vegetables for another minute. Add 1/2 cup water or bean cooking liquid and use it to scrape up any bits stuck to the pot. Let simmer until liquid has almost disappeared, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add beans and 2 more cups of water (or bean cooking liquid) to the pot and simmer until the flavors meld, about another 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente, or still a little firm inside. Reserve 1/2 cups cooking water from your drained pasta.
• Transfer one cup of the bean mixture to your rinsed food processor and purée it until smooth, then stir it back into the sauce to thicken it. Add drained pasta to bean sauce and cook the mixture together, adding pasta cooking liquid as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta, about 1 to 2 more minutes.

To serve: Heat remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in a tiny saucepan over medium-low heat with garlic and rosemary, until garlic turns golden (but not dark brown). Divide pasta between serving bowls and drizzle garlic-rosemary oil over each. Sprinkle bacon on top if desired.

Eggless semolina pasta

My kiddo is allergic to eggs. The irony with us keeping chickens is not lost on me.

I've been wanting to get back into making pasta. I love the taste and texture of fresh pasta, plus it's a LOT of fun to make. I had stopped putting in the effort when J arrived (lack of time of course and then most pasta recipes call for eggs). Knowing that I might need a strong incentive, I resisted adding pasta to the grocery list this past weekend. Since pasta was on the menu tonight, I had no choice but to jump back into the pasta game. Plus I'd bought some semolina flour last year and I actually have three Kitchen Aid pasta attachments so really I had no excuse.

Online I found an egg-free semolina pasta recipe and it worked out GREAT. Very, very pleased with it. This makes enough for 2-3 people.

The different sizes of pasta were due to the various distractions I had while making it

Ingredients:

1/2 cup semolina flour (med. or fine)
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 t salt
3 – 4 T water (I needed more, almost double)
1 t good olive oil olive oil

Directions:

• In a food processor pulse the semolina, flour and salt. Gradually add water and oil, a spoonful at a time, until a nice pliable and very slightly wet dough is formed. The amount of water will vary depending on the flour, semolina and humidity. Leave the dough slightly wet as the semolina will absorb a little more water than ordinary flour will.
• Place in a container and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. I left it for at least 7 hours. Roll out and cut by hand or use in a pasta machine.