Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
December 24, 2011 – New Kind of Christmas Dinner
With Emma heading off with the Bobcat band to play in Orlando and in the Citrus Bowl parade (corporate sponsor intentionally left off), we couldn’t spend as much time as usual in Minnesota. So we were home Christmas Eve and after sugar-high crash, we were craving something green and fresh.
Linda made some spring rolls from scratch for the first time. We’ll work on the rolling, but they were still yummy!
Then it was a wok full of stir-fry for the main course.
November 24, 2011 – Thanksgiving High Hopes Style
This Thanksgiving, most of the items on the table were raised/grown on the farm.
The smoked lamb and turkey were simple, rustic smoked, and to die for!
Most everyone’s favorite side dish.
Some international flavors delivered by the saag.
Finally, some roasted Brussels sprouts.
September 30, 2011 – Raspberry Applesauce
In the never-ending quest to preserve apples, the third product is now on the shelf. First was canned apple pie filling, then dried apples for snacking, now applesauce.
These jars sitting on the storage shelves in the basement have a red color due to the raspberries added to the apples. One canning episode was good for about 44 jelly-sized single serve jars for lunches at work. We’ve had no trouble using our raspberries without going to market this year – we traded raspberries for buffalo meat, and handed off 18 lbs of berries to a vinter who promises us bottles of dry wine 6 months from now.
one year ago…”Thingmajig Thursday #227″
September 3, 2011 – Salsa Time!
It’s that time of year. Although we mange to choke down canned salsa over the course of the year, nothing quite sings like fresh salsa.
Some of the ingredients assembled, fresh from the garden.
The final product -a real late summertime treat.
one year ago…”Claire Settles in at Macalester”
August 30, 2011 – Summer Skillet
Ok, it’s that time of year for “Summer Skillet.”
No real recipe, just pretty much saute some onion and garlic and throw in whatever is in the garden along with some grass-fed beef. Second best summer meal only behind anything off the the grill.
one year ago…”First Oyster Mushrooms”
August 27, 2011 – Putting Tomaotes Up
Today was a long-anticipated day. Last year, we only had enough tomatoes to can seven quarts (it was a good thing we had canned 89 the previous year and had enough left over to get us through). This looks like a great tomato year. It was wet to get them going, hotter than blazes in July, now bone dry in August (avoids bacterial wilt and fungus).
Martin with the first sweep through the garden of the year looking for ‘maters.
A bushel of Romas waiting to be skinned and peeled.
To enable safe boiling water canning of tomatoes, we add 2 tbsp of lemon juice and a tsp of salt for taste.
We throw the tomatoes in boiling water until their skins crack and then put them in cold water to cool.
Then cut out the stem and slip the skins off.
Take about 1/6 of the tomatoes and crush them and bring them to boil, then slowly add the rest (no need to crush). After all the tomatoes are added, bring to a boil and boil for five minutes.
Put in cans and boil for 50 minutes. Today’s haul was 28 quarts of tomatoes. Seems like a lot, but it’s only about two jars a month. These are a staple in our cuisine. Love them as the base of a minestrone soup and an essential part of red hot dish!
one year ago…”Ag Incubator Ribbon Cutting!”
August 13, 2011 – Treats from DC
Claire arrived home today, after evading the storms that brought the wreckage to the Indiana State fair. We were tracking her flight online and watched as the line of storms approached Chicago from the NW and her plan approached O’Hare from the southeast. With the plane at a few thousand feet and only a minute from landing, the plane icon suddenly turned away and headed away from the storm front.
The plane landed in Champaign-Urbana, which is about a 15 minute flight. They sat there for an hour, then headed back to O’Hare, taking a circuitous route over Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, and finally back to O’Hare. Of course, she missed her connecting flight home (and the next two scheduled flights) but did manage to catch the last flight out of Chicago for the day.
Before she left, she asked us to choose a cupcake variety from Georgetown Cupcake.
The boxes of cupcakes, ushered through security and three landings and take-offs.
A peek inside one of the boxes – mine was the blueberry cheesecake on the upper left. Mmm-mmm.
one year ago…”Look for Linda on HBO”
July 24, 2011 – Dilly Beans
It’s that time of year – time to start putting food up in earnest. One of the first to go this year are the “poor man’s pickles” or dilly beans.
They’re a “snap” to make – just put some galic and dill in a jar, cut the beans to length, and stuff the jars and seal with a vinegar mix.
You can even add a hot pepper if you’d like to spice things up a bit.
Here’s the Recipe we use from the USDA canning guide:
PICKLED DILLED BEANS
4 lbs fresh tender green or yellow beans (5 to 6 inches long)
8 to 16 heads fresh dill
8 cloves garlic (optional)
1/2 cup canning or pickling salt
4 cups white vinegar (5%)
4 cups water
1 tsp hot red pepper flakes (optional)
Yield: About 8 pints
Procedure: Wash and trim ends from beans and cut to 4-inch lengths. In each hot sterile pint jar (see page 1-14), place 1 to 2 dill heads and, if desired, 1 clove of garlic. Place whole beans upright in jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Trim beans to ensure proper fit, if necessary. Combine salt, vinegar, water, and pepper flakes (if desired). Bring to a boil. Add hot solution to beans, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process.
Process 10 minutes in boiling water (15 minutes above 6,000 ft elevation).
one year ago…”Rockford Fossil Quarry”
July 1, 2011 – Mm-Mm Smoked Trout
I had the first crack at smoking the trout we recently caught. I thought I’d try half of them, so I grabbed 10 out of the freezer.
After a bit of brining and wiping dry, the trout are almost ready for the smoker.
The smoker doing its work.
They were very delicious, freezing the trout before smoking did not seem to affect the quality at all.
one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #215″
May 7, 2011 – All Farm Grill
Tonight was another “all farm” grill. The asparagus is finally big enough to cut.
Partnered with some slow-grilled smoked turkey, makes for a happy spring meal!.
April 24, 2011 – Easter Dinner
I only managed to take one photo of dinner – a leg of lamb from the smoker.
I’ll do this again. We also had a Niman Ranch ham, the traditional lamb cake and host of others. Also had a houseful with my Mom, sis, her sig other, Claire and two college friends, and cousin Jill from chi-town. The weather continues to be cold and gray.
one year ago…”More Apple Blossoms”
March 1, 2011 – Sourdough Kick
Linda received a sourdough starter a few weeks ago and has been tending it ever since.
We’ve been the beneficiaries of sourdough bread, sourdough waffles, sourdough chocolate cake, and a few things I might be forgetting. Martin requests sourdough french toast to be next on the docket.
one year ago…”Early March Driveway”
February 6, 2011 – Totally Devoid of Blueberries and Pomegranates
Susan from Squash Blossom Farm alerted me to this video about Total Blueberry and Pomegranate cereal (in honor of my recent post about Dean’s Guacamole Dip that contains less than 2% avocado). This cereal contains not a smidgen of either blueberry or pomegranate, and instead, a few food dyes to stand in place of the advertised fruit. Perhaps the box should read “Total Red 40 and Blue 2 Other Color Added Cereal.” For you fans of Monty Python or the old “Who’s on First” you’ll love this short video explaining the lack of blueberries and pomegranates from Total Blueberry and Pomegranate cereal.
For those who care, here’s the ingredient list:
Whole Grain Oats, Whole Grain Wheat, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Barley Malt Extract, Brown Sugar Syrup, Wheat Flakes, Malt Syrup, Rice Flour, Salt, Oat Flour, Whole Grain Rice, Canola Oil Natural and Artificial Flavor, Red 40, Blue 2 and Other Color Added, Soybean and Corn Oil Sucralose, Molasses, Honey, Corn Starch, Almond Flour, Nonfat Milk, Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols) and BHT Added to Preserve Freshness. Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate), Zinc and Iron (Mineral Nutrients), Vitamin E Acetate, a B Vitamin (Niacinamide), a B Vitamin (Calcium Pantothenate), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Mononitrate), a B Vitamin (Folic Acid), Vitamin A (Palmitate), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3.
One year ago…”Clothes Humi-Dryer”
January 29, 2011 – Smallest Chicken Egg Ever!
There was a bit of a surprise in the chicken coop this evening – a mini-egg! This egg was so small it would fall right through the egg basket!
We’ve had some weird eggs before, but never one this small. I guess if you were on a low cholesterol diet, you couldn’t get into much trouble eating this one. I was hoping it would have a perfect little yolk, but it was all egg white inside. Wouldn’t that have been cute in the frying pan?
