Mexican Cabbage Salad

 

Mexican Cabbage Salad

1 head Napa cabbage, cut softer portions into 1/2 inch shreds
10 mini bell peppers cut into matchsticks
1 bunch of cilantro leaves removed from stem
3 apples peeled, cored, and cut into matchsticks
    (soak in lemon juice and with water to prevent browning, then drain)
1 jalapeno, Fresno, or serrano pepper seeded and cut into very small pieces
1 can no sodium corn
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
hot sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste

You might have noticed I am trying to limit my salt with every possibility. Mix all salad ingredients. Whisk dressing well and pour over salad. Serves 8 to 10 people. Just what is needed after the heavy meals of Thanksgiving.

Apple Celeriac Soup

 

Apple Celeriac Soup

1 yellow onion chopped fine
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves sliced
1 celeriac root peeled and chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
3 apples (your choice) peeled, cored, and chopped
2 cups chicken stock (had it left over from another recipe)
2 to 4 cups spring water
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves, remove before blending soup
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup sugar if so desired

This is my first time using celeriac root. What a fragrance, not like the smell of actual celery. Earthy and sweet. Sauté onions in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another minute. Add celeriac root, apples, and/or stock. Add spices and herbs. Cook till all is soft. Blend till smooth. Add sugar if you think the soup is too bitter. This soup is so delicious and fragrant and it can be kept in the fridge for 4 days or it freezes well.

Braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes

Braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes

3-5 pounds of short ribs or a combo with beef chuck meat
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup gluten free flour
2 small onions cut small
3 garlic cloves minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1large carrot cut into smaller pieces
2 parsnips cut into smaller pieces
2 cups dry red wine
2 cups no sodium beef broth
1 can of tomato puree or sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon ground rosemary
1/4 cup brown sugar or 3 tablespoons agave syrup

Cut short ribs and/or chuck into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Add rib pieces to flour in a large baggie. Working in batches brown short ribs on all sides using a porcelain costed braising pan. Add a little more olive oil if needed. Set ribs aside and scrape bottom of braising pan. Next sauté onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes to gather up more of the frond on the bottom of the pan. Add tomato paste and sauté for one minutes. Add in wine, stock, and tomato puree, and scrape bottom of pan. Add in spices and herbs and cook on very low temperature on the top of the stove. If mixture is too bitter add in the brown sugar or the agave syrup and adjust the spices. Allow plenty of time to cook the short ribs about 3 hours, stirring to be sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the braising pan. Serve over or alongside mashed potatoes. This is a delicious way to prepare short ribs. Serves approximately 6 to 8 people.

Turkey Platter

Turkey Platter

Happy Thanksgiving

Lemon Buttermilk Pudding

 

Lemon Buttermilk Pudding

2 tablespoons corn starch
1/3 cup sugar plus one tablespoon
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
zest of one lemon
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan place sugar and cornstarch and mix well making sure there are no lumps. Add buttermilk, heavy cream, and lemon zest and stir well. In a separate bowl beat egg yolks till light and fluffy and set aside. Cook milk mixture on medium heat till just shy of boiling. Add milk mixture to eggs 1/3 cup at a time stirring constantly so eggs don't scramble and so on. Add egg mixture to milk mixture in the pan. Cook till slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Cook again till mixture starts to thicken. Let pudding cool slightly and pour into serving dishes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Garnish with fruit or your choice. Makes 4 servings.

Mascarpone and Sage Pasta

Mascarpone and Sage Pasta

1 pound gf pasta of your choice
1/2 cup cooked pasta water
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped fine
1/2 cup gf fine plain bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic minced fine
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 cup grated parmesan cheese, room temperature

Mix cheeses together and set aside. Add olive oil to pan and sauté mushrooms in olive oil and set aside. Next sauté garlic, bread crumbs, and sage in butter till lightly brown, then set aside. Meanwhile your pasta should be cooking. Drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Mix cheese mixture into pasta, then add bread crumb and sage mixture, reserve a little of the bread crumb sage mixture for presentation. I had harvested my sage in the pot but the sage in the ground was still usable. Oh brother this was some delicious pasta. I liked the fresh sage better than the fried sage often seen on cooking shows.

 

Sliced Sweet Potato Casserole

Sliced Sweet Potato Casserole

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced on mandolin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 butter
4 garlic cloves minced
sprigs of fresh thyme stripped from stems also
a few fresh branches of fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or Aji Amarillo pepper
garnish with some pomegranate seeds of you wish

Coat bottom of 8 x 8 baking dish or similar size with olive oil. Arrange potato slices in pleasing manner inside the baking dish which you coat with the olive oil. Melt butter and sauté garlic and thyme. Drizzle this mixture over arranged potatoes. Bake at 400 F in foil covered dish for 45 minutes to one hour, then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Adjust cooking time for thicker or thinner slices of potatoes. So delicious and none of those yucky marshmallows

Carrot Top Pesto

Carrot Top Pesto

1-2 garlic cloves minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup nut or seeds of  your choice
1 bunch carrot tops, stems removed
1/2 cup parley leaves, stems removed, or other herb of your choice
1 lemon, zest and juice
1/4 cup more or less of real maple syrup
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt to taste

I decided that using the whole carrot was something I should do. Put the carrot tops to good by using every part of the vegetable. Blend olive oil, garlic and nuts till mixture looks creamy. I used unsalted cashew nuts. Cashew nuts have a good amount of magnesium which is often low in diets. Add carrot tops and herb leaves of your choice. Add in lemon zest and juice and maple syrup. Usually a sweetener is not used with a savory pesto, but carrot greens can be slightly bitter. Hence the addition of another herb besides carrot greens. Add parmesan cheese. if mixture is too thick, add more olive oil. Serve over potatoes, carrots, or protein of your choice. We had a grilled turkey thigh and dipped a bit in the pesto with each bite. We still have enough of the pesto for use with pasta or other dishes.

Brown Sugar Glazed Baby Carrots

 

Brown Sugar Glazed Baby Carrots

1 small bunch of fresh baby carrots
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish

Par cook carrots till tender. Next melt butter and add brown sugar, honey, and spices and herbs of your choice. Cook till carrots are nice and soft. Gary said he liked these carrots, of course, they had sugar on them.

Orange Pudding

Orange Pudding

I made this recipe direct from the link.
Next time I'll double the recipe.
It was so delicious!

Steamed Turnips

Steamed Turnips

1 bunch turnips, ends removed and peeled, then chopped
herbs and spices you prefer

These turnips can be mashed or pureed into a soup our just eaten as they are cooked. Quick and easy, earthy, and delicious

Ruby Streaks Mustard Greens

 

Ruby Streaks Mustard Greens

1 red onion chopped fine
4 garlic cloves mince
1/3 pound of hot sausage of your choice
2 bunches of ruby streaks purple mustard greens
1 container beef broth (no sodium)
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Saute onion and garlic, then add sausage and cook till just brown. Add beef broth and spices. Cook down till all is wilted and soft. This variety of mustard greens is my new favorite.

Pickled Watermelon Radishes

Pickled Watermelon Radishes

water
white distilled vinegar
sugar
salt
peppercorns
garlic cloves
bay leaves

Slice ends off radishes and peel radishes. Slice on a mandolin into thin slices. Bring water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to boil then let cool. Pour into pint jars and cover with brine mixture. After jar is half full, add the garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves. A quick and simple way to make pickled radishes and so colorful. Refrigerate when  completely cool. Lasts 2 months.

Tomato Omelet

Tomato Omelet

1 large tomato sliced in 1/2 inch slices
olive oil to sauté tomatoes
2-3 beaten eggs
1/4 cup cream
herbs and spices of your choice

Sauté tomatoes will soft, pour eggs and cream mixture over the top and cook till eggs are done. A surprisingly fresh tasting omelet.

Big Haul from Harvest Festival

Watermelon Radish

Purple Top Turnips

Green Apples

Sweet Potatoes

Tomatoes

Baby Carrots

Purple Leaf Mustard Greens

All organic and all picked the same day.
Thank goodness for my local farmers.
And the market is less than 3 miles from my  home.
Now to dream up some recipes.
I'm cooking the mustard greens as we speak.

Vegetable Stuffed Flounder

Vegetable Stuffed Flounder

6 flounder fillets
juice of one lemon

olive oil for sauteing and brushing top of stuffed fillets
4 ounces mushrooms chopped
1 small red onion chopped fine
6 mini red peppers chopped fine
10 asparagus tips, steamed till soft
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté vegetables till tender. Mix well and, when cool, pat flounder fillets dry and stuff flounder fillets with vegetable mixture by rolling with stuffing. Place seam side down. Squeeze lemon over fillets. Mix bread crumbs and tarragon and/or other herbs or spices of your choice and sprinkle over stuffed fillets. Bake in 400 F oven for 20 minutes. You could make a sauce to drizzle over the flounder fillets if you wish but not necessary. Serve immediately.

Lamb Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Lamb Burgers with Caramelized Onions

1 onion sliced on a mandolin, sauteed till browned
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground lamb meat, room temperature
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon (more or less) ground cayenne pepper

Sauté onions will brown, set aside covered to keep warm. In a bowl mix remaining ingredients and sauté till lamb is cooked medium rare. Serve with caramelized onions on top and a browned bun if you like.

Mini Potato Dauphinoise

 

Mini Potato Dauphinoise

3 medium potatoes peeled and sliced thin on mandolin
1/2 stick of butter
3 garlic cloves minced
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated melty cheese of your choice
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
salt and pepper

After slicing potatoes, melt butter and add garlic. Coat each muffin tin with the butter garlic mixture. Layer potatoes in each tin half way up. Add grated cheese to the top of each potato stack. Add cream to butter mixture and drizzle over each potato stick. Continue on till each stack is all the way to the top. Bake at covered at 350 F for 40 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and serve. I think I might have had too much cream mixture cause my potatoes overflowed onto the oven floor. You might place the muffin tin on a cookie sheet to help with cleanup. A bit fussy to make but the presentation is excellent. We had our potatoes with lamb burgers with caramelized onions. The burger recipe coming up next.

Lettuce Rolled Omelet

 

Lettuce Rolled Omelet

3 eggs room temperature and beaten well
5 scallions or 1 shallot or 1/4 onion chopped fine
1 scant romaine heart chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
spices and/or herbs of your choice

Sauté scallions or others of your choice. Add chopped lettuce and sauté till soft. Remove from pan. Add beaten eggs and cook over medium low heat. Spread lettuce ingredients over the flattened omelet and slowly roll from one end to the other. Let sit for 5 minutes off the heat and cut into rolls and serve warm or cold. In Korea there are many variations of this type of rolled omelet made. Enjoy.

Lamb Keema

Lamb Keema

1 onion chopped fine
4 garlic cloves minced
1 inch ginger peeled and minced
1 pound ground lamb
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
1 can diced tomatoes or tomato puree 
3/4 cup frozen peas

Sauté onion, garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add lamb and cook till browned breaking it up into small pieces. Drain excess oil from pan. Add sugar, spices, herbs and tomatoes. I got the fenugreek seeds at the Amish store in Blue Ridge and ground them myself here. Cook mixture till melded. Add frozen peas at the end and cook till peas are unfrozen, about three minutes. Serve over long grain rice. Wonderful.

Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup

Follow link for recipe.

Seared Ahi Tuna

Seared Ahi Tuna

Follow link for recipe or do a search on right side bar
for many other tuna steak recipes.

Picking Herbs

rosemary

sage

mint

Greek oregano

I picked the tender tops of the herbs and
most I plan on drying. But I was reading about
making some rosemary water. It is supposed
to be good for the hair, I have thick hair
but it is coarse and dry, we shall see.
Not pictured is some thyme I also harvested.

Armadillo Platter

Armadillo Platter

Cashew Cilantro Pesto

Cashew Cilantro Pesto

1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews chopped fine
2 garlic cloves minced
1 inch ginger peeled and chopped fine
1 lime or lemon zested then juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch of cilantro leaves

Amount of olive oil will depend upon how much cilantro leaves you use. Blend in order listed and serve over pasta or protein of your choice.

Red Oak

Red Oak

Scalloped Cabbage

Scalloped Cabbage

1 whole cabbage shredded, minus core
1 onion diced small and sauteed
2 tablespoons of gluten free flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
1 cup cheese of your choice
3/4 cup gluten free bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1 teaspoon1 fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Shred cabbage and precook in hot water till al dente. then drain well and set aside. Sauté onions till translucent and stir into cabbage mixture along with herbs and spices. Coat an 8 x 8 inch baking dish bottom and sides with olive oil and pour in cabbage mixture. Meanwhile melt butter, add flour and milk then cheese. I used a combo of shredded cheddar 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup blue cheese. That way I could use up what I had on hand in the cheese drawer. When cheese is melted pour mixture over cabbage mixture and then sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350 F for half an hour. Let cool for half an hour before serving. I can't explain it but the blue cheese makes it taste like it has a bit of nutmeg in it. Or perhaps it is the combination of the spices. Any it was so delicious, just a few steps to achieve the perfect bite.

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

Thai Coconut Curry  Soup

1 shallot peeled and minced fine
1 tablespoon oil for sauteing 
1 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and minced
2 cloves of garlic minced fine
2 stalks lemon grass peeled, cut 2 inch pieces, bruised with back of knife
1 tablespoon of red curry paste (or curry powder)
1 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 container of low sodium vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
8 ounces mushrooms sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced thin
1 cup of mung bean sprouts
1 package gluten free curly ramen noodles or noodles of your choice
slivers of green onion for garnish
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves for garnish
slices of lime for garnish

Sauté aromatics in order listed. Add vegetable broth and coconut milk and bring to boil. Simmer for 1/2 hour. Add mushrooms, peppers, and sprouts and simmer till soft. If coconut and stock separate, use a corn starch slurry to fix that. Add ramen noodles at the end. Serve with garnishes. Double recipe if serving a large group. I have lemongrass growing in a pot in my solarium and this is the first time using it. I can't wait to try this soup.

Just a Door

Just a Door

I love this door, the color, the ornateness.

what higher aspiration is there, than to make an
item of beauty just because you can and want to.

Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback Potatoes

Follow the link for my recipe