Leeky Mashed Potatoes

In this experiment I was trying to recreate a dish my aunt brought to our Thanksgiving feast. Mashed potatoes with leeks or as I fondly call them Leeky Mashed Potatoes. I peeled and chopped the potatoes and boiled them as I normally would for mashers. I sliced, rinsed, and diced the leeks. I then sauteed the leeks in bacon grease (there was a pan on the stove from breakfast and I couldn't resist!) although obviously butter or oil would too!

Now is the part that needs further refinement.

I wanted to puree the leeks but I didn't think that would work well with just them in the processor. So I warmed my milk and butter as I usually would and poured that into the processor too. Well, that created a bit of an explosion as the warmed milk seemed to seal the processor and then when I pulsed the milk came frothing out the top. I recommend adding something to ease the pureeing part but maybe some potatoes would work better!

Finally, I mashed together the cooked potatoes, pureed leeks, warm milk, and butter. In total, I believe I had about 2.5 lbs. of potatoes, two leeks, 1/3C milk, and 2-3T butter.

Curried Lentils

I love curried lentils. It is a filling dish and is quick and easy. It also is forgiving and can easily incorporate as few or as many add-ins as you'd like. I love it with a side of rice and topped with chutney and yogurt.

Depending on how many you want to serve this recipe can easily be scaled up or down. This will serve about 4 (or more as a side dish). I saute 1/2 an onion, 1-2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 a green pepper, and 1-2 carrots in 2T oil or butter or a mix. I add in 1C lentils, coat them in the grease, and toast them slightly. I then add 2C water or broth, depending on what I have available. My goal is to only add enough liquid for the lentils to cook and absorb it all in order to avoid ending up with soup.

Add more liquid as needed during the cooking process.

Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat. Lentils can overcook so it is important to check them as they cook. I usually cook them for about 10 minutes and then add potatoes.

Cook about 10 more minutes and add greens like spinach, chard, or kale. Continue to simmer until lentils are soft but not mushy and the potatoes are cooked to your liking. Add more liquid as needed. And serve with rice, plain yogurt, and chutney. I am a fan of mango chutney. With this dish I ate a homemade apricot chutney that I made over the summer. Yum!

Roasted Squash Medley

The summer farm share is over now, but in the last few weeks we were starting to get winter squash. This was good preparation for the weeks and weeks of squash and root vegetables in the winter farm share that starts the week after Thanksgiving. The other night I combined 1 small butternut squash, 1 delicata squash, 1 celeriac, and about 1/2 the cloves of a head of garlic. I peeled the squash and celeriac and cut everything into about 1x1 inch cubes. I left the garlic skin on the individual cloves. I drizzled olive oil over everything and added salt, pepper, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Our oven has been acting up lately and so we have to set it about 25 degrees higher than what we want. Luckily we have an over thermometer! I roasted these at about 400 for 20-30 minutes. Since they are in such small cubes they may cook faster than you are expecting and you probably want to avoid overcooking them and having a medley of mush!

East Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I just plugged my camera into my computer and there are photos from at least five different recipes. I've been taking the pictures and slacking on the posting, I guess!

I'll begin with East Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ, which we had a few weeks ago on a Sunday. It's a recipe that cooks all day in the Crock Pot so it's perfect for a football-filled Sunday. For anyone not familiar with Southern BBQ, let me explain that regional allegiances to particular types of BBQ are quite strong. You are probably familiar with the idea that there are Texas styles of BBQ and a Memphis style, but you many not know that the eastern and western parts of NC have very different BBQ. In East Carolina you find a smoked, pulled pork BBQ that is cooked with a dry rub and served with a spicy vinegar-based sauce.

There are no tomatoes in this recipe. I love this BBQ and I eat way too much during our annual family beach trip to NC because I have to fill up for the year. This recipe doesn't fill the void, I'll still need to travel to NC, but it is a good proxy. The main difference is the smoke but the sauce is super! I'd make twice as much sauce next time.

I asked the butcher to cut down a large piece of pork shoulder so I could use about 3 lbs. of meat. I used this recipe, which calls for 5 lbs. of meat, and the only other ingredient I cut back on was the onions. On Saturday night, I mixed up the dry rub: 3T brown sugar, 2T paprika, 2t sea salt, and 1t black pepper. I rubbed this all over the meat and wrapped it up in plastic wrap and put it in a bowl and into the fridge. I left it overnight.

The next day I quartered 2 red onions (I didn't have any yellow ones but the recipe calls for two each kind). I placed those in the bottom of the Crock Pot. I put the meat on top and then I drizzled about 3/4 of the sauce over it. The sauce is a mix of 1C red wine vinegar, 2T Worcestershire sauce, 2T crushed red pepper flakes, 2t sugar, 1T spicy brown mustard, 1T garlic powder (I am not sure I would double the garlic powder), and 1/2t cayenne powder. The recipe says to cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. I didn't have 8 hours so I opted for the high heat method. I would aim for enough time to use the low heat method next time. I think the flavors may soak in to the meat more thoroughly. I cooked it for 5 hours but I think it was finished at about 4 or 4 1/2. Believe your eyes when the juices are running clear. I let it go a little too long and it had started to dry out. When it is finished it is starting to fall apart. Pull the meat and onions out. Chop the onions and pull the pork. It is easiest to use a couple forks and place them face down in the meat and pull them in opposite directions. Mix the meat and onions together and serve with the remaining sauce, this is why I wished I had more sauce! We ate this on rolls with cole slaw. Yum!!

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.