Grape Juice

For the past few weeks we've gotten concord grapes in our farm share. While I love the flavor, they aren't the most pleasant grapes to just munch on due to the seeds. With only a pound or so a week, I decided to go all out and get an additional 10 lbs. so I could make some juice. Using advice from Simply Recipes, I picked through the grapes and washed them. Then I mashed them a bit, simmered them for 10 minutes over medium high heat, and mashed them some more. I then let them sit in a strainer for a few hours. What a thick and tasty grape juice! It is delicious with sparkling water.

Meatloaf

I am a big fan of meatloaf. With snow flurries falling today it seemed like a great day to have the oven on for hours and to make a hearty meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. My husband's cousin is visiting and both he and my husband worked outside all day today in the cold and flurries doing tree work and stone work, respectively. So as I stood at the butcher's counter today, 1 1/2 lbs of meat didn't look like enough. I went for 1 3/4 lbs of meatloaf mix (beef, pork, and veal). I am hoping we'll have some leftovers because there is nothing like a meatloaf sandwich in my mind. I love 'em with mayo, BBQ sauce and lettuce. And cold.

I preheated the oven to 350 (Joy of Cooking advice) and I anticipate it'll take 1 1/2 hours to bake for that much meat. I always use a meat thermometer when pork is involved.

The recommended temperature is around 160 for pork.

I start out with one slice of sandwich bread (this is a good use for the heel!) and I soak it in about 2-3T milk and 1 egg (although I have used either one or the other before, so if you don't have an egg, don't worry about it).

Once it is soggy, I use my hands to mush up that mixture and then I add the meat and mix it all together.

You must use your hands! I then add in the extras.

This time I used about 1/2 an onion and 1 small green pepper.

I often add mushrooms too, but I didn't have any.

I added about 2T ketchup, 1T chili sauce, 1T worcestershire sauce, 1t garlic powder, 1t black pepper, and 1T oregano. I know I have also tossed in dry mustard, basil, salt, and other spices in the past. I mix all this together and put it in a loaf pan. I cover the top with ketchup and stick it in the oven.

Deep frying (everything) and Mushroom Casserole

I misplaced my camera for a few days, which means I have been delinquent with my blogging. It just doesn't seem right to post without tempting photos. But it is all for the best that there is no evidence of the deep frying extravaganza from Sunday night. It started out quite innocently...

There was a frost warning on the horizon and so we decided to pick all the ripe chili peppers on our 31 plants. With colanders full of cayennes, jalapenos, poblanos, green chiles and more, my husband got the charcoal grilled fired up to do some roasting. We have a great little rack for easy roasting of stuffed jalapenos. So I cored and stuffed those with a mix of cheddar and cream cheese and we roasted those for an appetizer.

Apparently that wasn't enough chili stuffed with cheese for us for the evening because next came the chile rellenos. After roasting, steaming, and peeling the poblanos (and a couple Anaheims) my husband stuffed them with cheese and dipped them in batter. I am not sure of his batter recipe but I know it involves separating the eggs, beating the whites, and stirring them back in for amazing fluff and rising action. He heated the oil and started deep-frying away. We didn't even get out plates. We just started eating the rellenos as soon as they were cool enough to manage.

Now that would have been enough. And I wish I could tell you that that was the end. But there was leftover batter and the oil was still hot and I just couldn't resist. First it was dill pickle slices. I love deep fried pickles. I have had the slices in North Carolina BBQ joints served with Ranch dressing on the side. And more recently I have had lightly battered and fried dill spears at the state fair. Also quite delicious. So in went the dill pickles. Let me tell you there weren't any left on the plate at the end of the evening. And then, here's the embarrassing part, in went dessert.

Now, as an aside, I must share two pieces of information with you. First, is that I lived in Edinburgh for a year. The Scots are happy to deep fry anything and everything. They start with the fish and boy is it good. But then they move on to the sausages, burger patties, and pizzas. And boy are those good too. And then they dive right in and deep fry Mars bars. And those are good too. I waited until about 2/3 through my year there to even try one for fear that I would like them too much. And indeed, they are devilishly delicious. The second relevant detail is that just a few weeks ago there was a local Apple Harvest Festival and among the many fair food options, there were deep-fried Oreos. I was party to the purchase of half a dozen of these beauties. I had half of one and was pleasantly surprised to find that the oil creeps its way into the cookie layers and creates a texture unlike any Oreo bite you've encountered. They are good. And so without any Oreos in the house, you'll understand that I had to toss a few Milanos in for good measure. The oil seeped right into those cookie layers too and just enough heat reached the chocolate for a little bit of melting action and yum..yum...well, need I say more. It was a deep-frying Party!!

And on a slightly healthier side note, last night I tried this recipe for a mushroom casserole that was delicious. I followed the recipe pretty closely and it worked out to be a great little side dish.

Apples, apples, apples...in muffins and hot cereal!

It is fall and that means lots and lots of delicious apples. I love 'em. Especially the Honey Crisp ones! I thought I'd share two quick apple ideas.

Last week I made some apple muffins that were delicious. I was sad to eat the last one this morning. Bye bye tasty muffin breakfasts. I used this recipe from the blog eat make read. I didn't make the drizzle for the top and I didn't have any pecans so they didn't look as cute with the nut on top. But they were tasty nonetheless!

I also have been enjoying a new hot breakfast cereal.

I love the concept of hot cereal but I just can't get into oatmeal. I grew up eating cream of wheat, which I love, but which is just too much like baby food sometimes. This cereal from Hodgson Mill is a nice balance for me with a slightly more complex texture than cream of wheat but not as much as typical oatmeal. And boy is it tasty when you mix in apples, brown sugar, and buttermilk! Did I mention that I love buttermilk on hot cereals? I do!

Barley Bake

Last winter I became a little obsessed with whole grains, including barley. I found a recipe for a barley bake, which I have made and adapted several times since then. This is rich, hearty, and tasty side dish that can be made with a wide variety of vegetables, broths, and/or nuts. I was tempted to add parmesan cheese the first time I made it, but I took a bite and realized the butter and broth added plenty of richness: No Cheese Needed!

I use the barley available in the bulk section of the grocery store, which I believe is pearl barley. I have only recently learned (see this link) that hulled barley is the whole grain and is more nutritious, but also takes even longer to cook than the pearl barley.

Preheat the oven to 350.

If you have a Dutch oven or a similar container that can go from the stovetop to the oven, use it for this recipe to make fewer dishes to clean up. In the pan melt 2-3T butter over med heat and add 1C barley, 1/3C nuts (the original recipe called for pine nuts but I use walnuts), and 1/2 onion, diced. When the barley begins to brown add other vegetables to sautee.

I used 4 crimini mushrooms, chopped, and 1 leek, sliced and rinsed well.

I also added 2-3T parsley, chopped. Finally, I added kale. We had purple kale from our farm share and I used about 4 large leaves, trimmed off the stems, and sliced the kale into strips. I added the kale to the pot and covered to allow it to steam for 1-2 minutes.

Add salt, pepper, and chicken (or vegetable) broth and stir the whole mixture well. The recipe calls for two 14.5 oz. cans of broth, but I used 1 32 oz. container and it worked just fine. Cover the pot and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check at about 1 hour to see if the moisture has been absorbed. The dish is finished when the broth has been absorbed and the barley is tender, chewy, and cooked. This makes enough for a side dish for about 6 people, or plenty for dinner for 2 with leftovers for a couple days.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade chicken noodle soup. Cold weather and sniffly noses inspire it. Grandmothers make it. Or at least my grandmothers both did. Eight years ago or so, I realized it was time I learned how to make it myself and so I called my grandmother. She explained the following method to me, which I have yet to perfect. But it's a good start!

The basic method is to use the vegetables and chicken to make the broth and then add new vegetables for the soup. The first round of vegetables turn over all their flavor to the broth and so it is necessary to add more that can retain their flavor for the soup.

Use a whole chicken. Rinse the chicken in cold water and place it in a stock pot. Cover the chicken with cold water. Add any combination of the following: celery, carrots, onions, parsnips, parsley, thyme. Any other root vegetables and fresh herbs are good too. My grandmother never roasted the vegetables first, and I haven't tried it yet, but roasted vegetables make a more intense broth. Bring the broth to a boil and then allow it to simmer over low heat for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

When the chicken looks done pull it out. You can let the broth continue to simmer with the vegetables, but you don't want the chicken to completely boil away. Allow the chicken to cool so it is comfortable to touch. Pull all the meat off the bones. Throw away the bones and the skin.

If the broth isn't to your taste yet, raise the heat and let it cook down and the flavor will intensify (you can do this for as little as 15 minutes and as long as half a day). When it is to your liking, strain the vegetables out. If the broth is too fatty looking to you, allow it to cool and you can easily skim the fat off the top.

Return the broth to the stock pot and add new vegetables (celery, carrots, parsnips) and herbs (parsley, thyme) and salt and pepper to taste. Allow these vegetables to simmer to a level of doneness you like. I like the vegetables to retain enough texture to be chewed rather than mushed in the mouth.

Meanwhile, boil water to cook your pasta or rice. You can cook the grain in the soup; however, you'll lose some broth. I prefer to cook the pasta separately and then add it to the soup. This time I used orzo, but I also like to use egg noodles.

When the vegetables are cooked to your liking, add the chicken meat (shredded or diced to sizes appealing to you) and the pasta. Allow the chicken meat to warm all the way through. Eat with fresh rolls and butter.