Tag Archives: cooking

Pumpkin Spice

Posted on October 9, 2015 by AnnieRie

Flavoring that seems to have taken over the stores, restaurants, drive throughs and other places all over the area. So, what is pumpkin spice?

You can buy it from McCormick.

According to most people, it includes cinnamon, cloves, mace, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg. Me, I get a little adventurous.

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This was in the pumpkin hummus I made a few years back. Post is here.

This hummus is one of my favorites, and a way to deal with large pumpkins, like the ones seen all over this county at our local farms and markets.

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We know there are cooking pumpkins and “jack-o-lantern” pumpkins. Some are stringy. Some have very little flesh. So, we tend to use butternut squash for our pumpkin recipes. Just like they do in the canned “pumpkin pie filling”. Read this blog entry to see what we mean.

I use what we have. If we get cooking pumpkins, OK. If we get heirloom squash, like our recent Sucrine du Berry, we use it.

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Today I decided to experiment with that squash. I roasted it yesterday. Scraped it out. Went looking for recipes. Found one for lasagna. On the Big Oven APP.

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Made my squash component. Made my spinach too, using tatsoi from the CSA. The three cheeses. Mozzarella, pecorino and ricotta. I didn’t go heavy enough on the “pumpkin spice” but I should have.

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Finished. It was good, but not great. I think I need to increase the pumpkin spice.

If you get a chance, pick some pumpkins. Try something new and different. Like hummus, or ravioli, or lasagna.

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A Watched Fritter Never Browns

Posted on September 3, 2015 by AnnieRie

Eventually I do get around to making those recipes I intended. Like fritters with the tromboncini. Thankfully they keep well in the fridge for two days after grating them.

Life gets in the way of planning sometimes. Little things, like a root canal. Three days ago I was going to make fritters but an aging crown with a problem messed up my week.

As for the fritters, they all got done today.

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The best way to make these fritters is in cast iron. It retains the heat better and you can use less oil. This time I measured nothing. I did it all by sensing the consistency I wanted. The batter?

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Made with those two large troboncini, grated. That yielded a couple of pounds of shreds. I added flour until I liked the coverage. One heaping teaspoon of baking powder. Six small eggs. Four scallions. A sweet red pepper, diced. A shallot. Salt. Pepper. Thyme.

In other words, I used what I had and what I like. These fritters puff up nicely because of the baking powder. After browning, I put them on parchment paper in a 225 degree oven to finish their centers without burning them.

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I made different sizes. Some to use as appetizers and some to use as a side dish with dinner. Most of them went into a container in layered parchment, to be frozen. All winter long I can enjoy these just by pulling out a layer or two and reheating them.

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Now, it’s off to the garden tomorrow to see if there are a few more to harvest. All that is left in my garden are herbs, tromboncini, one pepper plant, and a half dozen struggling tomato plants. This summer here with the latest lack of rain had pretty much devastated the water loving plants.

This weekend I will do a tally of what succeeded and what failed in this very weird summer. At least those tromboncini did well.

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Abbondanza!

Posted on August 30, 2015 by AnnieRie

An abundance. A very large amount. A very heavy CSA basket.

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It is obvious that this is the height of harvest for our supplying farmers. When they said eggplant, they meant two. When they said mixed cherry tomatoes, there were two boxes. When they said red cabbage, there were two of them also.

As for the rest of the stuff, we are again blessed with watermelons. For I think the fourth week in a row, twice we had yellow seedless, once a monster regular and once a smaller seeded variety. And at least a half dozen cantaloupes this summer. Even our newsletter called this the summer of the watermelons. The weather cooperated in making them large and juicy.

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Have you had the pleasure of tasting a yellow seedless melon? They are simply awesome.

As for what we are doing with this bounty. How about baked casserole?

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Layered eggplant, yellow squash, onions, red pepper, tomato and goat cheese. Covered in a light vinaigrette and oregano. Baked for an hour until absolutely delicious. Served over this.

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I heated a few naan after sprinkling with za’atar and scallions. Roasted chicken legs and boiled some corn. What a wonderful Sunday night dinner. Nothing like fresh vegetables a few days out of the ground. If you haven’t been taking advantage of the many farmers markets, you should. Or, if you are blessed with a CSA that gives you fresher than grocery store produce, you know what I mean.

Now, tomorrow, I need to make fritters from the latest tromboncini I got from my garden.

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Zucchini on steroids. The Italian heirloom is still producing in my garden.

Anything interesting growing in your garden?

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Underachievers

Posted on August 24, 2015 by AnnieRie

That would be us. In the energy world. At least according to our latest and not so greatest report from our “Smart” meter. I have a hate-hate relationship with that meter. It only gives us bad news. Like this.

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Basically telling me to stop making home cooked meals for us.

My peak load on electricity. Dinner time. I suppose to become an overachiever we need to hop in the car nightly and head out 20-30 miles round trip to buy a dinner at a chain restaurant that would feed a family of six in a developing country.

In other words, we don’t do as well in energy consumption as 70 of our closest “neighbors”. We ranked 71st in the latest mailing, out of 100 people around us. It does NOT include any of the local McMansions. Since they heat with natural gas, they aren’t compared to us. Only the older homes that are cursed with heat pumps.

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We have two of the beasts. They work well, since we can tailor the output for bedrooms versus first floor, but still they consume beaucoup energy. Particularly when you are retired and home all day. Yes, we could crank that temp high and swelter in the house, since we no longer head off to government jobs in ice boxes that are set low to keep the computers cool.

All of those energy saving suggestions are tailored to those who leave their homes every day to go to work. Not to those of us who are here when the temps hit the high nineties.

But really. How is it more energy “efficient” to not use our stove or oven. Or to get rid of the chest freezer with all our home processed fruit and vegetables in it. Should we be buying all those quick fix meals that can be nuked or heated quickly? What about all the energy waste in the packaging and the transport?

None of that is counted for those of us who cook from scratch nightly. Who don’t do the carry out or fast food or restaurant hopping that keeps our kitchens clean and spotless. That minimizes those loads in the dishwasher. That lowers that “bump” from 5-7 pm in our energy curve.

Really. I want to believe that buying local food and making it myself is better for us. But is it? How much do we really save? Honestly, I think we are doing a better job in many ways, but it certainly isn’t reflected in the reports we get monthly.

How do we measure what our real carbon footprint is? I can’t easily answer that, but it is a good question.

Something to ponder on a Monday night.

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Yes You CAN

Posted on August 10, 2015 by AnnieRie

If I can can, you can can.

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My first entries into the canning arena at the fair. Cherries and dill pickles. I got a fourth place for the cherries. Nothing for the pickles but I am still learning. I saw the better jars did spears. I did slices.

I knew I wanted to learn how to can more fruits and vegetables and I finally got the courage to enter the fair. So glad I did. You never know until you try.

These luscious cherries. From Larriland. Picked in June.

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I separated them before making the preserved batches.

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This was a very simple cherries, sugar and water mix. No pectin. No hard work other than pitting all those cherries. Water bath processed. I got 5 pint jars of them.

As for the rest of the fair. Two blue ribbons, plus one third and one fourth place

Herbs. This may be the third blue ribbon for herbs. I have to look at the records, as I have never gotten a blue ribbon in anything other than herbs before this year.

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And, onions. They got me my other blue ribbon.

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Those onions. Lots of work to dry. But, oh so worth it.

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The five selected hung out in a closet in the laundry room, on hangers and string, until I was ready to enter them.

I didn’t take pictures of my third place basket. I need to go back and document that for my records. My final ribbon, for yellow slicing tomatoes. Somehow I missed taking that picture too.

As usual, I struck out with my heirlooms. They just lacked the intense flavor they need in order to win a ribbon. But, there is always next year.

If you have never had the courage to enter items in the fair, you really should just throw caution to the wind, and get in there. Easy to do. Really. Every year I learn more, and the people I meet are all very helpful.

Next year, I may even overcome my inexperience in baking and enter my zucchini bread. Or, take the time to enter some of my photography. There are so many ways you can participate.

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Energy Savings (Or Not)

Posted on July 31, 2015 by AnnieRie

We have these periods of time here where we live. Called “Energy Savings Days” by our local gas and electric provider. They happen to fall during my food processing times, at least twice this summer they have.

I then have a dilemma. Don’t use the stove, oven, crock pot or dishwasher to process these mountains.

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Yes, both those pictures were taken the same day. Yes, I have to draw down some of these tomatoes. I just change the A/C setting in the house, and then do what I need to do to process foods. I can’t give up six hours of productive time when I get anywhere from 10-20 pounds of tomatoes a week.

I am crossing my fingers and hoping I get good tomatoes next week, as the Howard County Fair opens on August 8th. On the night of the 7th I will be delivering herbs, onions, tomatoes, peppers, an ornamental basket, and this year, some of my canned foods.

Like my pickles.

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And some fruit preserves. And, hopefully a pepper jelly if I get it done this week.

If we get another energy savings day, I probably will be working through it. As the harvest doesn’t stop just because it’s hot out there.

Oh well, at least we aren’t using our cars much when I’m processing foods. Heck, I even improvised on this tabouleh.

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I used Israeli couscous instead of bulgur because I ran out of it. This was a quick simple lunch dish. A cup of couscous simmered in chicken stock. Parsley. Mint. Tomatoes from the garden. Lemon juice. Olive oil. Salt and pepper.

Gotta use those tomatoes everywhere I can.

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The Protein and Dairy Bag

Posted on July 19, 2015 by AnnieRie

Next up on the #buylocalchallenge front. Meat. Seafood. Dairy. Eggs.

All readily available here, with just a little searching. Or, by subscribing to the weekly bag from Friends and Farms.

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I get the weekly bag during the summer and fall, when I like to get much of my produce from the Community Supported Agriculture source I have used for years. I also have the garden, and I like to buy fruit from the farmer’s markets. I did customize my bag to include produce instead of the half gallon of milk a week.

The eggs are from Miller Farm in Clinton MD. The chicken is Locust Point in Elkton MD. The other meat items we get are from an independent butcher in PA. He buys from surrounding farms.

Besides using a service like this, there are many other ways to find fresh protein items in Maryland. On my Local Resources page you can find many of the ones I like. I have meat, dairy, and cheese categories on the page.

As for seafood, a wee bit more difficult, but not impossible. The seafood market in Jessup (Wild Seafood) always has something from the Bay, just not necessarily the Maryland portion of the Bay.

Whatever way you find to add some local flavor to your meals will reward you with fresh home “grown” tastes. I have not missed those grocery store packages at all. Sometime during the challenge taste the local offerings at your nearest farm to table restaurant. Many of them have local beef, lamb and pork.

When you get hooked on the taste, you can find a source that works for you.

BBQ ribs with grilled squash and potato salad

BBQ ribs with grilled squash and potato salad

Like I did in last year’s challenge.

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The Big Cheese

Posted on July 15, 2015 by AnnieRie

Today let’s talk about local cheese.

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Cheese like Shepherd’s Manor Creamery Ewe Cream Cheese. Which you can find in many farmer’s markets and at Friends and Farms, where we discovered it. The dairy is in New Windsor MD. I love sheep’s milk cheese, and also goat’s milk cheese as they work for us lactose intolerant people.

Olney on Sundays is the closest farmer’s market where you can get this cheese.

Let’s move to Firefly Farms and Cherry Glen. Outstanding goat’s milk creameries. Their cheeses vary. I love Firefly’s chevre more than Cherry Glen, but CG’s Monocacy Ash is awesome.

I think we discovered Firefly at a Turf Valley Home Show, and Cherry Glen, we bought at Roots Market.

Goat’s milk cheese has that tang, that slightly different taste.

As for cow’s milk cheese, lots of options around here. Bowling Green is local and available at many farmer’s markets and farmstands. I really like their “feta” to put in my watermelon salad.

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From yesterday’s post you saw a picture of a fresh mozzarella from South Mountain Creamery. There is nothing like fresh mozzarella. Only thing better than buying a local one is making it yourself from local milk.

Oh, and a PA source for goat cheese. Linden Dale Farm. Their feta made from goat’s milk graced this watermelon salad.

Hey, it’s Buy Local Days. What could be better than cheese? Tomorrow, bread to go with it.

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Just Another Soggy Day in the ‘Hood

Posted on July 5, 2015 by AnnieRie

The Fourth was a real bust around our house. I just couldn’t get into it, after spending Friday trying to salvage much of my waterlogged garden. The weather data around here showed June giving us 9.6″ of rain. Seventeen days in June it rained.

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And we already slogged through last weekend at our Field Day site. Somehow I wasn’t inclined to make it two Saturdays in a row, so we stayed home and I cooked. I really had to do something with these.

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That would be the 75 onions I harvested on Friday. I had to do it. They were starting to crack, and to get softer at the crown.

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This pile couldn’t be hung to cure. They have various bruises and cracks but are a decent size. So, they became crock pot caramelized onions.

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All of them into the pot, for 16 hours, the last two uncovered. I ended up with about 32 ounces of onions. Four one cup containers. Three in the freezer to use this winter. Making them is simple. Salt, pepper, a splash of water.

I can definitely sympathize with our local farmers. This weather is seriously affecting crops. We got newsletters from both Friends and Farms, and our Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA, telling us to hang in there. The fruit and vegetables aren’t as good when the temperatures won’t rise enough to ripen them, and when excess rain waters them down, or splits them.

Still, I can be thankful my garden is producing.

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Ready for the Fourth?

Posted on July 2, 2015 by AnnieRie

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The locavore way. Berries from Larriland. Chardonnay from Big Cork. Using Maryland’s best to celebrate the holiday.

I am getting ready for this weekend. Lots of good stuff from the garden, the CSA, Friends and Farms and other local farms for grilling, chilling and just kicking back. If only the weather would cooperate.

As for things to do, here is what is high on our list.

Lisbon.

You could go pick berries at Larriland, as they are open 9-1 on Saturday. Have a hot dog at Alex’s snowball stand. Watch the parade. Listen to the music.

For us, we are seriously considering heading out to Rohrersville to Big Cork to join in their celebration at the winery. The events page has the details. I mean, River House Pizza from Eillicott City is heading out there.

As for the grilling sometime this weekend, if it ever stops raining, I am looking forward to those goodies from my Friends and Farms basket.

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I am thinking bratwurst with German mustard.

As for fireworks, not a fan. I know they are all around the area, but we just stay out here in west county and watch the neighbors’ fireworks. Someone, somewhere out here will set off a few.

Happy Independence Day to Howard County.

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