Monthly Archives: December 2013

Santa’s Little Helper

Posted on December 11, 2013 by AnnieRie

At least in our house, the major helper as I prepare for Christmas is right here.

DSC_0018

Yes, it is the crock pot. Without it, trying to accomplish all the decorating, cleaning, baking, writing cards and wrapping presents would be quite a bit more complicated.

I have to admit, I didn’t use my old crock pot very much. With my long work hours, I wasn’t able to time things for them to be ready when I got home. They usually were mush after my eleven hours out of the house. Working in DC meant long days.

I have pretty much perfected the timing these days. Get everything out of the freezer by nine. Crock pot started before ten. A six hour cooking on high setting, with the warming function keeping dinner warm until we are ready to eat about six.

Soups are the best thing to make using items from my freezer. Add a jar of chicken stock, some tomatoes maybe, whatever protein works best and then fill in from the CSA veggies.

I have a tag in the blog. Crock pot soups. Lots of variations using some very basic items.

Any sort of greens from the CSA will make a very good base for soups. Like the kale from last week.

DSC_0005

A pint of stock. A couple of ham bones from Copper Penny Farm. A couple of cans of organic cannellini beans. A few carrots, some celery and an onion. That’s all you need to make bean soup for dinner. Oh, salt, pepper, garlic powder.

If you get really busy during the holiday season, consider using that crock pot to make some rich flavorful soups. So far this week I have made three different soups. When the temperatures get down below freezing at night, soups, stews and chili are our favorite meals.

A collection of some of the best I have made.

Grandma’s Tomato Soup
Navy Bean Soup
Freezer Clean Out Sausage Soup
Venison Chili

super bowl 2 006

The possibilities are endless. Break out that crock pot and make dinner the easy way.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Locavore, Real Food, Winter Eat Local and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

It’s Been A Soup Sort of Week

Posted on December 10, 2013 by AnnieRie

Seems to be the norm this week to have soup for lunch or dinner. What with a second snowfall today.

DSC_0004

At least we got the snow thrower some hours. I think it hasn’t been used in two years. My husband had everything done in about an hour this afternoon. All told, between the two storms we had about seven inches of snow on the ground.

It even brought the red bellied woodpecker up close to the house, something she rarely does.

DSC_0041

While we were out there, the crockpot was on, with my latest version of cauliflower leek soup bubbling away.

DSC_0020

The secret to my soup? Garam masala. It makes it much more complex in flavor.

The recipe:
1 small head cauliflower, broken into pieces
4 medium leeks, sliced, white part only
2 scallions, sliced
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, parboiled first
1 pint stock (I used turkey)
1 pint almond milk
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Everything in the crockpot except for the almond milk, for six hours on high, or eight hours on low. One hour before serving, I pureed most of the mixture, leaving about 1/4 of it in its chunkier form. After pureeing it, add the almond milk for the last hour to give it the creamy texture.

Tonight we dressed it up a bit.

DSC_0042

I had a package of Copper Penny Farm mini chorizo in the oven on slow cook (250 degrees) for that last hour. Placed a few of them, with some of their juice, over the soup.

A mostly local meal tonight. Just the spices and the almond milk, not local. Warm, satisfying. It’s interesting how soup is one thing we love to have when the “weather outside is frightful”.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in Birds, Farms, Food, Locavore, Nature, Weather, West HoCo, Winter Eat Local and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Icy Weather

Posted on December 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

Yep, it snowed yesterday and iced up overnight. Not a pretty sight out by the evergreens.

DSC_0037

We lost a few limbs. Most of them, though, just were heavily laden with ice. We try to keep the trees healthy. And, we cross our fingers most of the time when the ice comes our way.

DSC_0050

Everywhere in the yard, I was taking stock. Making sure the best trees looked OK and weren’t about to break off limbs.

Today was also a soup day. Nothing beats a good hearty soup, to warm you up after time spent shoveling snow.

DSC_0006

This was turkey noodle soup. I keep a container full of pasta and noodles, to use for soups and stews.

DSC_0008

Pasta shapes. Whole wheat noodles. Pot pie noodles.

Today, I combined leftover Maple Lawn turkey with CSA chicken stock. Added one carrot, one stalk of celery with leaves and the green part of half a dozen scallions. Some salt and pepper. Simmered it while we shoveled snow.

Lunch was wonderful. While our clothes dried out.

DSC_0002

Now, we have to get ready for round two tomorrow. I am so ready for winter to end, and it just began.

hocofood@@@

Leave a comment

Posted in CSA, Food, Weather, West HoCo and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Snowy Sunday

Posted on December 8, 2013 by AnnieRie

And it still isn’t over. There are at least five inches of snow on the ground, and we are crossing our fingers that there won’t be much ice tonight.

DSC_0005

Around noon, things were somewhat under control but with more snow and now freezing rain, getting up the hills could be interesting. I am so glad as a retired old person that I can sleep in tomorrow and avoid that rush hour mess around DC.

We always got a bit more snow and ice here in the western edge of Howard County. Our elevation of 600-800 feet across these parts is high enough to be a few degrees colder, and we see it in our snow fall totals.

DSC_0012

This is the beginning of the heavier snow and ice on some of our ornamental grass. I hope tonight that the evergreens are spared the ice load. A few years back, we lost quite a few limbs on our pines and fir trees.

Watching football with a glass of Old Westminster Chardonnay, and some Bowling Green cheddar. Nice to be inside and warm. Wish us luck, to keep us from losing power!

hocoblogs@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Community, Howard County, Retirement, Weather, West HoCo, Wine and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Spirit of the Season

Posted on December 7, 2013 by AnnieRie

Let’s start with the cookies, and then move on to the crafts fair and then to the winery. All in all, a busy weekend so far.

DSC_0029

The cookie inspiration came from Rantings of an Amateur Chef.

I adapted it to use my butternut squash instead of pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

What you will need:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup roasted butternut squash
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup natural cane sugar, for rolling the cookies

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. This took a while as i hadn’t softened the butter enough. Add the roasted butternut squash, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix at medium speed until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, not all at once. I had about a cup at a time. Continue mixing until combined and it starts to clump up.

Refrigerate the cookie dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days. I chill mine overnight when I can. Because I made a double batch, I did divide it in half.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the cane sugar in a small bowl or on a plate. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in the cane sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. I put two sheets at a time in the oven. Top and bottom third.

The cookies will still be soft. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. I made larger cookies and got about 30 of them per batch.

I made a double batch to take to the Conservancy. The holiday crafts fair, which was a huge success. Including some amazing crafts made by the children. Like this one.

DSC_0023

I spent today assisting at the fair. Watching all the festivities and linking people with local farms for trees, and for holiday dinner items like beef and pork.

Then, we headed off to visit a new winery to try out some bubbly. Nothing like a good blanc de blanc to get you in the spirit.

Our first visit to Old Westminster Winery, and definitely not our last. What a wonderful family owned winery. Right up the road from Mt. Airy.

DSC_0027

Just the beginning of the holiday season and already we are out and enjoying the festivities. Here’s to a few more weekends spent out and about.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Adventures, Community, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Wine and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Cut Your Own Tree?

Posted on December 6, 2013 by AnnieRie

For those of us who love the scent of freshly cut pine and who want to have a Christmas tree up for four weeks, getting a tree that you cut yourself is a good deal.

Granted, it can be daunting running all over the farms looking for that perfect tree.

For I don’t know how many years, we would head out to TLV Tree Farm to get a tree. Right after Thanksgiving.

I have been going through old pictures to decide which to keep and I have found dozens of pictures of our decorated house. Mostly with trees that we cut ourselves.

There are three choices here in Howard County. This web site gives you the name of the farms, arranged by county. Besides TLV, there are two others. Greenway Farms and Browning Tree Farm.

Just over the county lines, Pine Valley is north on Rte. 97 with an incredibly huge selection. And, Gaver Tree Farm is west of Mt. Airy, on Detrick Rd. Very close to a farm I frequent during the winter to buy dairy, meat, eggs and produce, England Acres.

If you want to support local businesses this holiday season, head out to the farms and either cut a tree or pick up one that they have cut very recently.

DSC_0026

Certainly beats those dried up things the big box stores sell. Price wise, they are a good deal too.

Or, those of us who support Gorman Farm on Gorman Rd. east of Hopkins, can head out there where the farm stand is also open.

hocoblogs@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Community, Farms, Howard County, Local Businesses and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

CSA Pick Up Today

Posted on December 5, 2013 by AnnieRie

In short sleeves. Couldn’t believe it was 60 something degrees out there. Didn’t feel like fall, but we got our delivery of fall veggies today. Week Five of the Sandy Spring CSA, with the cooperative farmers’ contributions to our basket of goodies.

DSC_0001

This is what we were supposed to get. I did make one swap.

One Bag Desiree Potatoes
One Bag Orange Carrots
One Bag Hamon White Sweet Potatoes
One rutabaga (I swapped to get an acorn squash)
Three Large Leeks
One Bag Curly Kale
Four Enterprise Apples
One Bag Scarlet Turnips
One Package Shiitake Mushrooms
One Package Portobello Mushroom Caps

Also this week, the bread was multigrain. And, my two chickens which come biweekly.

DSC_0004

I like the bread option of this CSA. It has been one pound boules. Each week a different variety. So far my favorite has been the rye with caraway. We use these breads for dinner, with soups or stews.

I also am happy to see the mushrooms. I will be trying to duplicate Root’s market vegan mushroom pate with these.

I am glad to see only ten items this week. I can make headway on the backlog of greens in my refrigerator. It must have been a very good year on the farms, as week after week we have gotten very large amounts of each item. Signs of a good harvest, but somewhat daunting when you are not always home to cook. Due to Thanksgiving and dinners out, I have fallen behind a bit.

I think it’s time to slow cook a deep richly flavored veggie broth to tide us over the five week period with no CSA.

This week, by the way, had us getting new items. For us, at least. Enterprise apples are a variety we had never seen. One of them lasted an hour before my husband had it as a snack after yard work.

And, scarlet turnips. I don’t believe I’ve seen these before. They are supposed to be sweeter than the purple topped turnips we get. We shall see how they taste compared to our favorite, which is baby Hakurei white turnips.

Just to show how much I enjoy the diversity of our veggies, here is a picture of tonight’s dinner.

DSC_0020

The radishes are from a few weeks back. Roasted with nothing but grapeseed oil on them, then finished with a little butter and garam masala. The greens, a mix of tatsoi and komatsuna, stir fried with scallions, tamari, and sesame seeds. Leftover Maple Lawn turkey. Having exotic veggies around the house makes cooking interesting for me. And, really good tasting for us.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in CSA, Food, Locavore, Real Food and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Winter CSA Sign Up

Posted on December 4, 2013 by AnnieRie

An up and down experience. First you see it. Then you don’t.

DSC_0002

Will there be a winter CSA? Hopefully, enough people will sign up to guarantee delivery here in Howard County.

What am I talking about? A Winter CSA from Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op. With delivery at MOM’s Jessup.

I have been hoping we would get a close site for the winter add on of my current CSA (through Sandy Spring). We were told we might get one, but Sandy Spring chose not to host for the winter. Most of our Sandy Spring sites are private homes, not businesses.

Our Columbia pick up point volunteered to host, but Sandy Spring decided not to participate, since Columbia was the only possible site. So, we were first encouraged, then disappointed.

Jessup is five miles further for me to drive, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to drive the extra. Lancaster Farm Fresh is moving possible sites into the MOM’s stores all across MD.

In the end, the great price for fresh organic food made my decision. When you figure the cost, compared to shopping for organic in the stores, the CSA is a bargain.

I really like how they are creating a mix and match package. The basic veggies. Meat, chicken, eggs, butter, milk, yogurt, bread, tofu, seitan, cheese, vegan burger, and pantry items.

Pick what you want. Even if it is only the basic share of 5-8 veggies. I have to give them credit for making it easier for people to customize their food service.

I love the chicken option for the winter. Not just whole birds but different cuts of chicken.

DSC_0149

Although I do enjoy roasting these chickens.

I hope the weather cooperates for the winter. At least MOM’s is on a major road right off the interstate.

Looking forward to a winter of eating mostly local, organic food.

hocofood@@@

7 Comments

Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Winter Eat Local and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Root’s

Posted on December 3, 2013 by AnnieRie

In Manheim. Pennsylvania.

DSC_0008

Checking off items on my “resolution” when I turned 60. A new city in a surrounding state. A new market. Lunch at some locally owned family type place.

I found this market on an app on my iPad. Food Network on the Road. Every Tuesday a huge food market, auction, flea market, antique dealings, collectors, and who knows what else.

Including lots of locally produced items.

I was on a mission. See if anyone sold salsify. They didn’t. Find a reasonably priced butter for baking. Found one. Maple syrup. Yes. Ground coriander. Check.

Oh, and this. Which I did not buy!

DSC_0005

As for my favorite item, it was this one.

DSC_0017

Can’t wait to try out the yellow bell pepper pappardelle. I went on the web site when I got home and found out it is available locally. At Casual Gourmet in Glenwood, and at Secolari, the new shop in Columbia Mall.

I need to bookmark those locations, as these pastas may become my new standard. I plopped a little of the soup mix in my turkey soup. At $2 a package, it was a great bargain. Mix and match, it seems.

Oh, and of course, in Amish country, I couldn’t resist one of these.

DSC_0026

What a lovely day we had today. Temps in the 50s. Nice lunch at Hahn’s in the market. Cookies in the car on the way home. And, the promise of some very good pasta this weekend.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Adventures, Day Trips, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Sixty@Sixty, Travel, Weather and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Holiday Crafts Fair

Posted on December 3, 2013 by AnnieRie

Another first Monday. Another program committee meeting. Where I spent this morning on last minute planning for this Saturday, and on longer term planning for our 2014 programs.

The fair at Howard County Conservancy. Have you ever been to it? For those who live in Howard County, this weekend marks the beginning of what I call holiday fair overload. There are certainly enough of them out there.

Why is the one I volunteer for so unique? It is a natural crafts fair. One where local artisans like GreenBridge Pottery from Dayton, and Breezy Willow Farm from West Friendship bring items they have crafted.

There is also a demonstration by a master gardener, on how to create greenery. And a critter craft table for the little ones to keep busy while their families shop.

Want local honey?

DSC_0049

Or alpaca wool clothing? Or children’s books and puppets? Or pottery? Or, much more!

The fair has no charge to attend. It takes place from 10 am until 3 pm. Come visit and browse the collections. Have a holiday cookie. Partake in some awesome hot chocolate.

DSC_0033

Get in the holiday spirit with us. And, don’t forget to pick up our new bookmark with the list of our 2014 programs on it.

Our creative committee came up with some amazing new programs for next year. You will be surprised and we hope you are delighted with what the volunteers are offering.

hocoblogs@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Howard County, Nature, People, Volunteering and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →