Cook 'n Dine with Brig Feltus

What happens when you learn how capitalism has completely corrupted the way we eat in this country?  You buy less processed foods.  You stop feeding your kids fast food.  You start educating yourself, and you try to cook more.  You buy fresh produce and meats from the supermarket and prepare them yourself. 

Are you safe then?  Well, no, it seems the horrifying truth is no.  Even if you do these things you are exposing your body to foods riddled with pesticides, genetical engineering, chemical fertilizers, hormones, and antibiotics.  That's just for starters.  The horror story gets worse because beyond these very tangible and obvious crimes against humanity, we are purchasing meats that come from animals raised in the most atrociously unnatural conditions in the name of mass production and high yield.  Animals are being fed foods they would never normally eat because those foods are cheaper, and because those foods manipulate the animal's metabolism, making them grow faster... up to 3 times what they would have without any manipulation. 
Produce is plucked green and unripe before the sun has gifted it with the nutrients, color, and flavor, just so that it can survive its journeys to far away places where that produce may not be growing at that time of year.  It's often treated with chemical gases once arrived, so as to create artificial ripeness.  This is why fruit from a tree in your yard tastes so different from fruit bought at your local big chain supermarket.  
We eat this food without knowing... thinking if we cook fresh food, we're doing good by our families... not understanding the growth hormones given to animals is being ingested when we eat them and our children are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages because of it.... not understanding why when we buy fruit in the grocery store the flavor is so hit and miss.... not understanding that there is very little if any research to determine what the consequences are to eating genetically engineered foods.... meanwhile cancer, diabetes, autism, immune disorders, and hundreds of other ailments continue to plague us and we don't know how we get them.

I'm only so far talking about those of us who try to do good. I don't even want to get into what's in all the packaged foods and fast food we eat in this country.  Why the hell are we in such a hurry anyway?  Greed is killing us.  It's the other name for capitalism and convenience,  if you really think about it and it's killing us one bite at a time. 
I am always outraged at the way you can walk into a grocery store and there can be two seemingly identical items on a shelf, sometimes from the same corporate source, one says 'organic'  the other not.  The organic is always more expensive.  It's preposterous.  Why, after all should it cost more to get your food the old fashioned way, with less chemicals, less pesticides, less interference in general?  Shouldn't it be if we mess with it less, it would be cheaper?  Wouldn't it make sense that if the produce grew an hour drive away, it would cost less than the one imported from South America???  Well, unfortunately, the way our food system is set up, there's no way for organic to compete on a large scale.  So we reject it.  Throw our hands up and give in to the poison... We are literally drinking the koolaid and we don't even realize it. 
So what then?  What happens when you realize this?  Well, in my case, I had the opportunity to live in other countries where the food systems are not all about capitalism. 


They might be fascinated by our bright colors and shiny flashy labels, but back home in their countries they do things a little differently than we do.
When I was living in Germany 13 years ago, there was perhaps one or two supermarkets in the cities I lived in and they weren't very popular.  Why not?  They were not needed. They were really just a novelty you could find in the really big cities where there were a lot of Americanized amenities.  That's what they call it... Americanized.... Shameful...

But again, those stores were novelties, mostly marketed towards homesick expatriots living there or poor souls who somehow thought anything Americanized was cool. 
The average person didn't go there.  It wasn't not as convenient, as inexpensive, as fresh as what they could find right outside the door to their home...
Each little neighborhood... I'm talking about a couple of blocks square... had a butcher who got his meats from the farmer who raised it, somewhere within 30-50 miles on the outskirts of town, and he received it whole and cut it into the various cuts of meat himself on the premises and sold it within the same week... each had a produce stand (or two) where you could buy fresh fruits and vegetables grown nearby... yes, they still had bananas from south america and such, but the majority of the produce came from a farm close by... and if it was out of season, they didn't have it.... simple as that... I remember thinking to myself I must be tripping off of culture shock or something because I could have sworn that the vegetables tasted better and I didn't understand at the time why... each neighborhood had a bakery with fresh baked bread and such.... and if you wanted things like cereal or other packaged foods you'd go to a store that pretty much only sold that kind of stuff... even there, was no frosted flakes, cocoa puffs, cap'n crunch, or honey bunches of oats.... there were different sorts of whole grain cereals, oats, grits, wheat meal, muesli, and the occasional granola... there you could also buy your dairy products which came from a farm which was, again within 30-50 miles of the city you were in... Cheese could be bought there too, but you could get that fresher and better quality at the cheese monger in your neighborhood.  All of these would be within easily 5 minutes walking distance and everyone owned one of those rolling market baskets that fold up like an umbrella.  People didn't even often drive to get to these places. 

It was customary to buy only what you'd use in the next couple of days and that was fine because you knew that at any time, on your way in from work or school you could stop through and pick up fresh items.  
Foods didn't have to be advertised as organic because it was the law that they be that.  They didn't need not to be because the farmers could manage to keep up with their livestock... enough to supply just the butchers in their town, and not an entire country.  By the way the entire country is smaller than the state of texas...

Did you  know that in America there used to be several dozen suppliers of meat?  Now there are about a handful... yes, actually less than 5 major meat suppliers in the entire country!  Do you know what that means?  These companies have streamlined the raising, feeding, and production of meat in this country in such a way that they can cost effectively supply a country that is probably 50 times the size of Germany!!!   You can imagine the atrocities without actually seeing them with your own eyes. 


In countries abroad, the way they produce their food is more sensible, safer, less expensive, and truly, truly more convenient and NO ONE IS COMPLAINING!  Yes, logistically it means they eat less animal products than we do.  We eat too much animal products anyway... feeding the greed in us... But the truth should hurt!

 Here, you can buy a cut of meat and there is no regulation that says they have to tell you if it has been treated, for example as some ground meats with fillers are, with ammonia... or to inform you of whether or not the meat is from a cloned animal.  Or whether the 3 lb chicken you're buying has been fed animal waste products mixed in its meal and  is really 2 lbs and the rest is salt water injected into it to make it look more plump.... (by the way, they're selling it to you by the pound and you're paying for that pound of salt water... basically paying to be lied to... )  Our regulations are in reverse.  There are regulations for those claiming to be organic but none saying that non-organic food producers have to disclose anything... Okay, they disclose "ingredients" but nothing about the processing, nothing about the growth, nothing about the pesticides, hormones or antibiotics... because we would be outraged! 


So what now?  In my case, I am now slowly weening my family off of non-organic eating habits.  We are shopping farmer's markets for produce when we can and buy from the organic section in the supermarket.  We're eating less meat because it's expensive to buy free range, grass fed, hormone free, antibiotic free animal products.  We also shop at small bodega type markets which we know buy their fresh foods locally within our state.  
I cook more often.  I seldom eat at fast food places anymore except in an emergency, and I try to hit up one such as Chipotle which is a known practitioner of sustainable foodsWe are not religious about all of this.  But everytime I buy food, I am conscious now.  I am aware now.  I don't ever put anything in my mouth without understanding the consequences.  It is a matter of awareness. 

And this is how Cook 'n Dine with Brig Feltus was born.  I wanted to share what I'm learning with people who would listen.  We're making it fun by visiting farmer's markets, watching films, cooking together, and then dining together. 

The first one was a great success, with a sold out attendance and raves afterward.  We went to a farmer's market, watched a film about farmers markets around the country, and then cooked a delicious Sunday Brunch style meal. 

This month, we'll be headed out early in the morning to a local organic farm that supplies fresh produce to high end restaurants and farmer's markets in Los Angeles county.   We'll be watching Food Inc.  and then cooking with the foods we bring back from the farm. 
If you are an Los Angeles local and any of this post inspires or moves you to make a change in your own life, please join us!  Let's learn together and spread this information to others that we love.  As corruption crumbles this obscene way of life all around us, just like in other living species, only the fittest will survive.  I don't intend to be among the feeble.  I intend to be among the strong, and  I'm starting with this small baby step and I hope you'll take it with me. 
Monthly sessions can be attended by signing up at brigfeltuscookndine@earthlink.net
You can also join our facebook group to stay in the loop regarding future events.
Co-Ed Cook 'n Dine with Brig Feltus group page on Facebook

Projects for Giving: Ginger-Infused Honey (How To Make)

 A jarful of Ginger-Infused Honey makes a yummy gift!

This infused honey recipe is part of our holiday gift projects for this year.  We also made gourmet mustards and rosemary lemon sea salt.   Preparation for all three project can be found here! 

We ordered our honey from a bee farm here in California.  We found it online by googling "bulk organic honey".   You can find links to the shops we ordered from in the post for preparations linked above.

This is another simple project that doesn't require rocket science skills nor do you have to be a professional chef to make this gourmet quality goody that your friends and loved ones will totally appreciate.  It can be used to sweeten teas, mixed with hot water alone and drank as a tea, added as the sweetener in a pound cake recipe, eaten on toast, used as a glaze for roasted meats, added to morrocan sauce recipes, added to tomato sauce for a yummy bbq sauce.  It's great by the spoonful as a sore throat soother too!!!  We bought three 1 gallon buckets of honey for $60 total.  Enough to make thirty-two 12 ounce jars of infused honey.  We bought organically grown ginger at our local farmers market.   In total I spent about $120 including the ginger, the honey, and the jars.   That's about $3.75/jar of infused honey.  A jar of  non-organic, ginger honey in the Korean market costs around $7 for 8oz jar.  

Again, it couldn't be simpler!!!   Buy your honey.  Buy your fresh ginger root.  You'll need about 3 inches of root for every 12 oz of honey you intend to make.

Peel the ginger, cut it into 1/2 inch pieces and mix into your honey.  Close the jar and don't open again for at least 1 week before opening to use.  Store in the refrigerator up to1 month after opening.

Projects for Giving: Rosemary Lemon Sea Salt (How To Make)

So easy to make, Rosemary Lemon Salt 

This is part of our holiday gift project series.  This year's theme is edible gifts.  We made gourmet mustard, rosemary lemon sea salt,   and ginger-infused honey.   You can find the post on how to prepare in advance for these three projects here.

You cannot find a more simple project than making rosemary salt.  Try to make this extra special by getting organic ingredients whenever possible.  We got our salt from a spice merchant online, for a fraction of what it would have cost to buy organic sea salt in the store.  Our ingredients cost under $35 to make 18 pounds of this delicious seasoning that can be used a myriad of ways!   I paid about $20 for small metal tins with hinged lids to hold my little treasures.  It would cost more than $500 to purchase that much gourmet salt at retail prices.  My 18 pounds makes about thirty-six 8 oz tins.  A 4 oz tin of gourmet salt costs anywhere from $8 and more in specialty shops and gourmet stores.   The lemons came from the farmer's market and the rosemary... *smiles* we harvested from our very own garden, from a bush I planted 4 years ago.  So the rosemary cost us nothing!  All you need is 2 parts regular grain organic sea salt to 1 part course granule organic sea salt, for each cup of salt, add 1/4 cup of fresh rosemary leaves, and 3 tablespoons of fresh grated lemon zest.

In a food processor grind your rosemary into a fine meal, then mix together with lemon zest and salt.

Spread the mixture thinly onto cookie sheets and dry in the oven for 2 hours on 140 degrees fahrenheit.   The zest and the rosemary should crumble between your fingers if it is properly dried.  Store your salt in a cool place indefinitely.  However, it will be most flavorful if used within 6 months. 

Projects for Giving: Gourmet Mustard How To Make

 

Honey Mustard with Garlic and Sun-dried Tomatoes,  Beer and Honey Mustard with Tarragon and Orange Zest

THIS JUST IN:  Gourmet foods don't require expensive ingredients, nor do they have to be imported from some far away land.  You don't have to buy them in Gelson's, Bristol Farms, or Whole Foods.  You don't have to go to your city's version of Beverly Hills and pay exorbitant prices in pretentious boutiques.  From my perspective, quality gourmet foods are made using preparation and cooking techniques that are time-honored, often old world, and often handmade in smaller quantities than mass manufactured foods.   Usually they are made with ingredients acquired with special care and usually the ingredients are organic, straight from the source, when possible locally grown to the maker of the food.  Guess what that means?   You can make your own gourmet foods fresh, organic, more intensely flavored and tasting like the ingredients instead of the machines and chemicals used in mass preparations.    

In our house we made homemade gourmet mustard, rosemary lemon salt, and ginger-infused honey to give as presents this holiday season.   See my previous post regarding preparations for these items here. 

In this post, I'll explain how we made two delicious mustards that I can't get enough of!! 

I will post photos of the actual packaging at a later date, along with the pages from the recipe book that will be included with the gifts when we give them.   We made everything ourselves at home from scratch with organic ingredients purchased from their source when possible, none of the ingredients were purchased in retail stores except the beer and even that was from a microbrewery.  The mustard powder and whole mustard seeds were bought online from a spice merchant.  The vinegar came from a source online as well that promised its product was organic.   The honey came from a bee farm I found online as well.  Purchasing ingredients in this way, from the source and in bulk was a cost savings that will blow you away.   

I made fifty 8 oz jars of mustard, including all the ingredients for under $75, including the cost of the jars which were bought online from a specialty bottle company.   In actual hands on preparation time, I may have spent a total of 2 hours total to make the mustard, over the course of two days.  First soaking the seeds, then the next day grinding them and mixing in the other ingredients.  After that, it is simply the passage of time that makes the flavors in the mustard come together over the course of about 10 days.

This mustard can be used for many purposes.... on sandwiches, in marinades, salad dressings, and so many more things... You will find that a jar of this as a gift is appreciated in a way that something impersonal, bought in a store will never be.   The flavor is so much finer... such mustard would fetch more than $10 a jar in a fine gourmet shop.  Making this was a pleasure.  The experience of tasting it was fine.  Somehow finer than if we'd bought it in a store.  The aroma perfumed my house for a few days until the mustard was sealed in jars.   I can't wait for you to make your own.  You don't have to make enough for 50 jars.  A jar will only keep for about 1 month in your refrigerator so, make what you'll use and then give the rest away.

You can be creative with the ingredients as well.  This is a simple thing, not really a recipe at all.  You will simply use equal parts mustard flour (mustard powder) and whole yellow or brown mustard seeds.  You'll need to soak your mustard seeds in the liquid of choice for at least a day or two before combining with the other ingredients.  We used apple cider vinegar and beer to soak one batch, and white wine and apple cider vinegar for the other. 

For 8 oz of mustard you will need 3 tablespoons of mustard seeds, 3 tablespoons of mustard flour, 3/4 cup of combined liquid (beer, water, vinegar, wine...), and any additional ingredients you want to use to create the flavor you desire.  If you decide to add honey to your mixture, subtract 1/3 of the other liquid, but don't add the honey to the soaking phase of the process.  Add it at the end when you add all the other ingredients before grinding.

After soaking the seeds for two days in the liquid, we added the mustard powder, and the other ingredients.  We added dried organic tarragon, organic honey,  and fresh grated orange zest to the beer mustard.  We added fresh finely minced garlic, honey, and sun-dried tomatoes to the other.  I decided to make the beer tarragon mustard a bit smoother and the garlic sun-dried tomato one more course.  To do this we varied the amount of the mixture that we put through the food processor to grind it smooth.  For the course one we processed 1/2 of the mixture in the processor for 5 minutes.   For the smoother one we processed 3/4 of the mixture in the processor for 10 minutes.   With gourmet mustard you want a bit of  whole seed to be present.   You can see from the closeups above, the difference in texture between the course ground and the smoother.  The courser will be spicier.   

It will taste better with time, so don't worry if the flavor is a bit harsh when you first taste it. Once you've gotten the consistency you like, store your mustard away for about 10 days then check the flavor.  At this point, taste it to see if you want to add more salt, more honey, etc... then store your mustard in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Enjoy!!!

Portuguese Chicken and Linguica

The Austrian's Most Sincere Form of Endorsement.

 

The fragrance of smoked sweet Spanish paprika permeates every room of our house this evening.  It is all that is left to remind us of a most delicious meal.  About 14 years ago I visited the beautiful seaside town of Lisboa where the people are like something out of a charming old world fisherman's tale.   The food is to die for, and the ocean breezes most lovely.

Although this dish is not truly a traditional Portuguese meal, its ingredients pay homage to the flavors I still hold dear in my memories of that place.   Salty olives, roasted peppers, smoked sweet pimiento (paprika), sea salt, and madeira wine.  

I cooked this in a cast iron dutch oven, because I really like the heat conduction it provides.  The ingredients in my pot were at a full boil even with the fire turned down to its lowest setting.  It was my first time using the dutch oven.  It was a wedding present.  (Thanks Tambela) If you don't have a cast iron dutch oven such as this one, you can use any heavy pot large enough to hold about a gallon of liquid, with a tight fitting lid.  You can also make this in a slow cooker if you first brown your chicken, sausage, and onions in a saute pan before adding to the slow cooker. 

I cook this with chicken thighs because they stay moist.  You can use other parts if you like.  I prefer to cook this with the chicken on the bone, to maintain the moisture.  You can use boneless chicken if you like.  You can also remove the skin from the chicken before cooking it for reduced fat content.  Another thing you will be glad to hear, this is a very adaptable recipe.  You may, if you like, add some fresh unpeeled shrimp, scallops, clams, or mussels (or all of the above!!) to the pot about 12 minutes prior to serving.   I cannot eat seafood (much to the boys chagrin) so I didn't add it to ours. 

THE PLAYERS: (your grocery list)

 Chicken Thighs (you know my song... for this recipe, you'll need 6 thighs... organic, free range, vegetarian fed, hormone free please... )  Portuguese Linguica Sausages (these usually come 2 in a pack.  you'll cut them up into 1 inch diagonal pieces.  they are easily found in your grocery store, in the section where the pepperoni, salami, and other dry sausages are found... near the high end cheeses...) Onion (you'll need 1 onion, cut into large pieces... eighths perhaps)  Carrots (you'll need 2 carrots cut into large diagonal chunks... about 1 inch thick) Celery (You'll need 4 stalks cut into 1 inch chunks) Tomatoes (4 roma tomatoes cut into eighths) Garlic (4 cloves coarsely chopped) Red and Yellow Bell Pepper (1 of each cut into 1 inch chunks) Crushed Peeled Tomatoes (in the can... 16 oz)  Broth (2 cups of chicken broth) Piquillo Peppers  ( 1 jar. These roasted Spanish peppers are used widely in Spanish cooking.  I threw them in for a little extra flavor. Find them in most larger groceries with international products, or purchase them online from the link below. ) Manzanilla Olives  (Spanish green olives can be found in the section where the pickles are.  Don't get the ones with the pimentos in the middle. Get whole ones with the pits in. You'll need about 1/2 cup of olives) Pimenton Dulce (This smoked SWEET Spanish paprika is an essential part of this dish.)  You can find it at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and other stores that carry a wide variety of spices from around the world.  You can also order it online below) Madeira  (pretty much any wine department will carry this.)

PREPARATIONS:

Heat 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a dutch oven, or large heavy pot.

Season chicken with sea salt and pepper and when oil is hot add to pot, skin side down.  

Cook over medium heat until chicken is brown on one side.  Turn over. 

Cook until golden brown on other side. 

Add onions, carrots, celery, Linguica, 4 tablespoons of pimenton, chopped garlic, bell peppers.  

Cook until onions are transparent. 

Add tomatoes, piquillo peppers, olives, crushed tomatoes, 1 cup of Madeira, and 1 cup of broth.

Mix everything together, and put a lid on.

Simmer for 40 minutes with the lid on... until chicken is tender and pulls easily from the bone. 

Meanwhile steam up a nice pot of rice to go with your chicken and sausages.  

Serve chicken, sausage, and vegetables over rice, with a glass of  red wine to accompany it! 

Giving a Tinker's Dam

 It's that time again.  The holidays are upon us and even though we should probably think about giving more frequently than just this once a year, it's a time to forgive yourself, revive the practice enthusiastically. 

If we go back to 1877, in the Practical Dictionary of Mechanics, Edward Knight puts forward this definition:

"Tinker's-dam - a wall of dough raised around a place which a plumber desires to flood with a coat of solder. The material can be but once used; being consequently thrown away as worthless."

This is a blog about worth and value in giving, but let me preface by saying that all of you out there who were planning on sending me an extravagant check in the mail as a holiday gift, I won't turn up my nose to it!  Don't you fret!!!  Just carry on with what you have planned!!! :)

In our house, over the last few months, I have quietly instituted a lifestyle evolution towards living a little cleaner, greener, and with more inner substance.  You won't find me doing any sort of massive conversion to some new extreme.  I am not interested in that.  There's something about extremes that just doesn't sit well with me.  I think if more people thought in terms of balance at the center of things,  instead of trying to right the boat by running frantically to the other end of the deck, the human race might even find a way to stay afloat.

So we've begun a whole slew of things... the Austrian is taking our master bath toilet apart this weekend because the water pressure in it hasn't been right in over a year, and we're wasting water with double flushes. (go ahead and breeze on by that mental image...) Long before the city ordained the new twice a week sprinkler allowance, we'd already cut back the watering of our garden and front lawn.   Last year, I stopped buying regular lightbulbs and started buying slightly more expensive, but longer lasting energy efficient bulbs.   We stopped using our air conditioning and heater except in cases where it was absolutely necessary...instead using ceiling fans, and alternately, extra blankets on the bed.   We stopped eating out so much, and the Austrian and I started visiting our local farmer's market every weekend.  I started reading labels on packaged foods, paying close attention to the ingredient hierarchy, and the ratio of the serving size to amounts of certain things like sugars, sodium, and saturated fats.  I've eliminated much of the prepared foods we were eating and replaced them with fresh foods prepared at home.  I don't even know why we were doing anything differently.  I am a hobby gourmet, and we were paying manufacturers to do things I can easily do at home, cheaper, tastier, and without a dramatic investment of time.  I eliminated the enormous amount of leftovers we were throwing in the trash due to our busy lifestyle, by purchasing disposable oven-safe, microwavable single serving containers and packing and freezing leftovers for the Austrian to take to work for his lunches.  The containers are made of recycled materials, and they are manufactured in a certified green factory and can be found in every Smart & Final store and most of those large outlets such as  Sam's Club and Costco.  I've had two yard sales this year, and gave away about 200 pounds of clothing to Goodwill.  We overhauled a small area in our home that was completely disfunctional and largely useless and turned it into a craft supply storage area... reducing the amount of clutter in my life by about 40%!
 

One of the greatest successes in the last year, (beside our eco-friendly self-produced wedding), was our christmas gift project.  I am being VERY generous when I use the word "our".   The boys were not really fully on board until the last weekend of production.

It might have been asking a bit much to get the Austrian, who I suspect to have borderline OCD, and the Pyrate who is probably sick of me and my big ideas, no matter how much he patronizes them.

But this stuff was not going to make itself!  We were on a tight budget, with wedding and trip to Mexico coming up in a few months, so we needed to use our creative resources and give in a very different way.

Once the guys got into it, they were very helpful and we were all very proud of what we'd done.  I spent 3 full weekends basically doing nothing but making the components of our christmas presents. We made several different things.The idea was to give things made with our own hands which had to be in some way useful.   We did some really cool stuff!
We made glass magnets decoupaged with art.

We decoupaged glass vases, framed mirrors, decorative platters, lazy susans, cigar boxes, and more.  I decoupaged wooden blocks and made block puzzles from images out of art magazines.  Grown-ups like to have them on the coffee table to fiddle with, and kids... well they love that there's 6 different images to puzzle together.


I made a beautiful jerk seasoning mix and layered the ingredients in the jar like a sand sculpture.  We made a seaweed mint footscrub, an oatmeal lavender milk bath, and little cones of individual cocoa mix and marshmallows.   Andreas designed customized labels for everything so that our gifts had a nice theme.

I purchased reusable grocery bags  and kraft paper (brown paper bag paper) for wrapping, from Nashville Wraps, an online company that sells gift packaging, including a huge and varied assortment of eco-friendly, recycled, re-useable products. 

We made our gifts, wrapped them in brown kraft paper, packed them in brown unbleached tissue paper, in reuseable grocery bags, and I can't remember the last time any gift I've given received such a response of gratefulness. 

NEWSFLASH:
People really like it when you do something thoughtful and actually give more than a tinker's dam instead of just going through the motions.  People actually get it when you've reached inside yourself and used your inner gifts for benevolence.

At a time when we probably should all be thinking more about how we spend our money... a time when we should be more conscious about how we consume... a time when we should be practicing less waste and more sustainable ways of living... getting creative in the way you give to others is the obvious move.  Not only is the gift more meaningful to the recipient, it is also profoundly good for your own mental, emotional, and yes, even physical health, to create and give.

So if you're a fantastic writer, write a short story and find self publisher online to print it, and give it as a gift.  If you're an artist, paint something and have copies printed, frame it and wrap it up in a bow.  You might think you're not very handy, or that you don't have the time, but those are excuses.  Giving is not giving if you don't get up off of something and give it.  Everybody has a talent for something.  If you're a handy household do-it-yourself-er, print up your favorite home improvement advice and anecdotes on nice paper, bound in a creative way and give it to all the homeowners in your life.  

If you write poetry, tell good jokes, bake great cakes, or even have great taste in music, there's super ways you can capitalize on your talent and use it for giving.   Frame a beautiful poem printed on parchment,  in an old frame and sign and number it.   Write a mini joke book.  Make a cake mix with all the dry ingredients for your most loved cake recipe and pack it up in a cellophane bag with instructions for what wet ingredients to add and how to bake it.   Make a list of must-have music and print it on card stock decorated with holiday regalia, add a personal note with holiday wishes and give it as a greeting card.
There are all kinds of great books out there if you want to try your hands at crafts.  You should, keep an open mind, don't start out too ambitious, don't get in over your head with something that will take months to finish.  And if you have many gifts to plan, don't choose something that you can't create in multiple fairly quickly.   

This year, we're going to step it up a notch with the edible goods, since I'm writing about food in my blogs.  I'm not completely committed yet to what all the goods will be, but there will be some sort of recipe booklet type inclusion, that, perhaps, I'll make available for sale after the holidays are over.

If you really feel that you just cannot create something, but you have a generous heart, that in itself is a talent!  Gather up some of  your friends and loved ones and plan a trip to your local rescue mission to serve a meal or deliver some cheer to children's ward at your local hospital.  Take books to read them, and boardgames to play.  This will be appreciated greatly by the staff and the patients alike!

You can find some really great books on crafting in my bookshelf in the right margin of the blog page.  All the books there are ones I have in my library and recommend!  So have fun, and remember to give from the heart!!!

All photos in this blog are taken by me, of items made by me, using recycled and re-purposed materials and cost very little money to make, but 3 weekends of my time, and a lot of love! 

BeeBee's Beautiful Butta-bean Soup

California weather rarely dictates more than a light sweater, but where we live, at the foot of a mountain range in desert-like conditions... warm days, and cool nights.  When the winds do blow in the wintertime, and the nights drop down into the 40's and low 50's we think we're going to start sprouting icicles.

Of course, this is not a rational thinking, but we have to make due with the variations in weather that we've got.  So yesterday, in celebration of the beginning of our winter winds, I decided to make a soup.  The Pyrate and I stopped in our local grocery store and I was planning to buy some lentils and make some curried dahl, but then I changed my mind because we have a big chunk of smokey black forest ham left from Thanksgiving, (you can also make this meatless...) and so I thought, what about a nice green pea soup... But I wanted to take a short cut and use frozen peas instead of dried ones, and that made me a little unsure, so whilst browsing the frozen vegetable aisle, beautiful packages of organic Butter Beans caught my eye.   I love butter beans.  They're kinda similar to lima beans except they have a bit smoother, waxier, creamier taste than the grainy, green flavor of lima beans.

That was it!  "This is what we're making tonight!!  A soup!! With butter beans!!"  The Pyrate was not amused at all.  He is not necessarily an automatic lover of legumes, and peas, limas, and that sort of thing.  Come to think of it, if I'd told the Austrian in advance what I had planned he'd have protested immediately, claiming he did not at all like soup.  "It's a waste of time, and it's not very filling," would be his claim.  The Pyrate just stood there silently frowning skeptically, yet resigned to years of experience that he really didn't have any say in this situation... unless it was his birthday... then he'd get about a 30% vote.
Anyway, I built this soup around Sunday's farmer's market goodies already in my kitchen, and made the butterbeans the star of the show!

It's a hearty soup with large, chunky bites, a tomato broth, fresh herbs, and the unusual addition of a huge handful of chopped fresh kale I just happened to have leftover from the weekend.

How did it go over with my men?  Well, the Pyrate was standing watch over this soup long before it was done, reveling in the fragrance, and as soon as he was permitted a bowlful of its goodness he gobbled it up in a jiffy, complaining that his bowl was too small!  The Austrian never mentioned not being a fan of soup.  He simply sat next to me, frantically slurping it up, burning his mouth repeatedly because it was so good, he couldn't wait for it to cool!  When I was half way through my portion, I looked over to see that the Austrian was leaning back in his seat, rubbing his belly with one hand and loosening his belt with the other.
I am changing his attitudes about certain foods, one recipe at a time!  I freeze this soup in individual, microwaveable containers so that it can be taken to work for lunch whenever we like.  So making a big pot never goes to waste.  This recipe will serve 8 generously with leftovers.
Make this soup any time you want to warm up, or even in the summer as its fresh vegetables are perfect anytime of year with nothing more than a hunk fresh baked cornbread and a glass of lemonade!

P.S.  Just after I posted this recipe, I got a text from the Austrian... who is at work:

"Best soup ever!!!" 

THE PLAYERS: (your grocery list)
Butter Beans (Three 16 oz. packages of butter beans from your grocer's freezer section.  If you decide to be adventurous and search for the dried version, go ahead.  You'll need to soak them for at least 8 hours then cook them with an extra 2 cups of water added to the recipe, for 3 to 4 hours until the beans are tender.) Onions, Garlic, Celery, Carrots, Kale (You'll need one full bunch.) Potatoes (Use a waxy variety of potato, such as Yukon Gold, fingerlings, baby red, etc...They will hold up better in the soup's slow cooking) Smoked Ham (optional)  (I used about 24 oz of Black Forest ham cut into 1 inch cubes.  You can also substitute cooked turkey or chicken or make this completely vegetarian as well.) Canned Crushed Tomatoes (I look for canned tomatoes that are canned fresh at their source, organic, and I like the Italian companies for the quality of the tomatoes.  You'll need one 24 oz can.) Broth (I used 32 oz of organic, free range, low sodium chicken broth.  Vegetable broth can be substituted) Tarragon (fresh tarragon is a nice compliment to this soup!) Bay Leaves (You'll need 2 bay leaves) Sage (Your grocer's produce section should have fresh sage.  If you can't find it, substitute 2 tablespoons of dried rubbed sage.) Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper

PREPARATION:

Make a mirepoix  by cutting up 1 large onion, 3 stalks of celery, 5 medium sized carrots into a large, chunky dice around the same size or a bit larger than the butter beans.

 

Saute in 1/2 stick of melted butter, in the bottom of a large stock/soup pot just until onions are slightly transparent.



 


Add 4 cloves of crushed garlic to the pot.
Dice your potatoes about the same size as the other vegetables, and add to the pot.
Tear the Kale into pieces just about twice the size of everything else and add to the pot. 
Add 4 tablespoons of fresh chopped Tarragon, 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped sage, and 2 bay leaves.
Add diced ham (turkey or chicken)

Add 1 tablespoon of sea salt, 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper, and 1 tablespoon of cayenne. 
Add 1 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes. 
Add 32 oz of broth
Add 1 cup of water
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and cook for 1 hour on low heat, or until beans are tender.

Enjoy!!!

Sweet Potato Kahlua Swirl Cheesecake!

Sweet Potato Kahlua Swirl Cheesecake, all packed up and ready to go to 

Auntie Ruby's house for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Yes, there are quite a few pictures in this posting.  I couldn't help it.  I needed you to see this one from every angle, to see the surface, the sides, the crust up close, the interior goodness.   I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned these photos say more than I ever could...

I don't make this more than once or twice a year, for a special occasion... usually at Christmas or New Years, or, as is the case this time, for Thanksgiving Dinner.  Many years ago I used to make a cheesecake with pumpkin and kahlua.  This is a much different taste.  The squash-like flavor of pumpkin is not anywhere near as sweet or rich as sweet potato.  I played around with it until the sweetness and moisture balance was right and the following recipe is the result.

 

When it was time to serve up desserts, and our family partook in the first mouthful of this creamy rich pleasure, eyes closed, moans escaped, my name was called out.  It was good for me.   Ha!  I love a successful experiment.   The wedges of this cheesecake went so fast that I didn't get any.  I was happy that I'd made two....

...and that at the last minute, I'd decided to leave one at home.  Three days have past, and everyone who's passed through our doors has had a taste... and for now, this decadent treat, with its coffee liqueur infused swirls of cream cheese, the natural sweetness of sweet potato and vanilla, and its graham cracker-gingersnap cookie crust,  is all  but a memory.  You'll find this to be surprisingly not cloyingly sweet because the potatoes are allowed to carry that part of the flavor profile, with just enough sugar added to balance the chemistry.

There are two very basic things you'll need to know about making cheesecake.  You need a bain marie, and a 9 inch spring form pan.   A bain-marie is a french technique that loosely translates to mean a water bath.  Sometimes it's used to melt chocolate by setting the bowl of chocolate over a pot of hot water.  The other use, which you'll be doing here, is to place a pan of water on a rack in your oven below the rack your cheesecake will cook on.  The purpose of this is to maintain a moist environment in the oven so that the surface of your cheesecake will not dry out so much that it cracks.  Now, this is not a huge tragedy.  It will still taste the same if it cracks... well.... it might actually have a slightly less tender surface... but it will not ruin the cheesecake except for the esthetics, which in this case, I must say, is something worth preserving.  The cheesecake I decided to keep at home, was the first one I did, and I forgot to use a bain-marie, and there was an enormous crevice across the middle of it when I pulled it from the oven.  Again, not a tragedy, but not perfect.  The second cheesecake, as you can see had a much better appearance because I added the bain-marie to the oven.  

A springform pan is a pan made especially for baking cheesecakes and other types of breads and baked goods that are deep  and would be difficult to remove from the pan if the sides were not removeable.  A spring form pan has a base, and a removeable ring that clamps shut onto the base, then when your cake is done and you are ready to remove your cake, you simply release the clamp and voila!  The one I have is made by a german company called Oetker.   Amazon.com has one you can purchase here:

THE PLAYERS: (your grocery list)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Don't confuse these with yams. They have purplish burgundy skins and orange insides.  Anything else is NOT a sweet potato.  You'll need 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes.  I don't list a number of these because it depends on how big your potatoes are.  Err on the side of having too much and save the extra to make sweet potato pancakes the next morning...Peel and cut them into large cubes to cook them faster in boiling water, then drain and mash and allow to cool completely before using.) Cream Cheese (For quicker preparation, get the whipped/spreadable cream cheese in tubs.  You'll need 24 ounces for one cheesecake) Graham Crackers (Find these in the cookie and cracker aisle.  You'll not use the entire box.  You'll need enough to make 1 cup  of  crumbs in a food processor.  Save the leftovers for s'mores..) Gingersnaps (Also in the cookie and cracker aisle.  You can find these in just about every American grocery store.  You can substitute another brand or similar ginger flavored crunchy cookie. You'll need enough to make 1 cup of  crumbs in a food processor.) Unsalted Butter (you'll need 1/4 cup for this recipe) Powdered Sugar (I try to make it a habit to buy organic, whenever possible but if you can't find it, conventional powdered or confectioner's sugar will do just fine for this purpose.  You'll need 1/4 cup for this recipe) Eggs (You'll need 6 eggs, go for organic and farm fresh if you can...) Vanilla Bean (You'll be using the inside of a vanilla bean in this recipe.  If you can't get one, then use 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.   But I highly recommend using the bean...) Demerara Sugar (...or Turbinado Sugar... either will work.  You need 1 1/4 cup for this recipe. Regular granulated will work...) Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Whole Nutmeg (I buy this whole because it keeps its flavor better that way. You simply use a rasp to grate off as much as you'll need... 1/2 teaspoon for this recipe.) Kahlua Liqueur (Find this in any liqueur store or grocery with a liqueur department.  It's great for cold weather drinks by the fire.  A little in your coffee will warm things right up!  You'll need 1/2 cup for this recipe)

PREPARATION:

Cut your potatoes into large cubes, place in a large pot, add enough water to cover, boil rapidly until cubes are tender to the fork.  Drain, mash, and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 360 degrees.

In the large bowl of a food processor, add equal amounts of gingersnaps and graham crackers and pulverize until a grainy meal is formed.  There should be no large chunks. Make sure you have 2 cups of crumbs.

Mix in 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and then 1/4 cup of unsalted butter.

Press this crumb, powdered sugar and butter mixture into the bottom of your springform pan, making sure to cover the entire bottom of pan, and pressing up the sides a bit. 

Gently put this crumb crust into the oven to bake for 5 minutes then remove and cool. 

While this is cooling make your filling.

Whip your cream cheese in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Add sugar and mix til combined. 

Scrape the inside of your vanilla bean into the bowl and mix until combined. 

Add eggs, one at a time with mixer going on medium speed.  Stopping to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula in between each egg.

Once all the eggs are combined with the cream cheese, transfer 1/2 of this mixture into a separate bowl and put aside.

Add 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup of Kahlua liqueur, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg to the remaining half of your cream cheese egg mixture.  

Mix until combined.

You should now have a cream cheese filling and a sweet potato filling in two separate bowls. 

You will now pour 1/2 of your cream cheese filling into the bottom of your crust in the spring form pan.  

Then pour 1/2 of your sweet potato filling on top of that and spread around gently so as not to disturb the previous layer. 

Then pour the other 1/2 of the cream cheese filling in and spread around gently.

Then the final layer of sweet potato filling goes in last.  

With a butter knife, gently drag through and lift, swirl and pull through the filling  to create a swirl pattern, being careful not to disturb the crust.

Place a pan of water on the lowest rack in your oven.

Place your cheesecake in the oven and bake, undisturbed for 45 minutes.  

Turn off oven and open door just a crack. 

Leave cheesecake in oven to cool for at least one hour before disturbing.  

After one hour, remove from oven and transfer to refrigerator to chill completely. 

When ready to serve, gently slide a butter knife between the cheesecake and the inside of your springform pan to separate it.  

Then unlatch the clamp of the springform pan.

With a firm metal pancake turner or spatula, go along to bottom of the cheesecake to gently release it from the base of the pan, then carefully slide the cheesecake onto a plate, platter, cake pedestal, etc... 

Serve chilled. 

What To Do When You Cook Too Many Sweet Potatoes: Sweet Potato Oatmeal Pancakes

It's Thanksgiving morning.  Last night, the Austrian, the Pyrate, and I wrapped up our contribution to Thanksgiving Dinner.  We made two beautiful Sweet Potato Kahlua Swirl Cheesecakes, an Apple Persimmon Pie, and prepped a huge bowl of winter vegetables to be roasted this morning.   For the cheesecakes, the Pyrate peeled a heaping pile of sweet potatoes which turned out to be about double what I actually needed for the cakes.  So, this morning when we woke up, excited to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, I had the great idea of making pancakes with some of the leftover mashed sweet potatoes.  And perhaps tomorrow we'll bake the rest with a pecan topping to have with leftover turkey we bring back from my Auntie Ruby's House.

This morning we got the winter vegetables in the oven, then I set about the business of making these absolutely delicious Sweet Potato Pancakes.   You can serve them up any time of year.  It doesn't take long to boil a couple of sweet potatoes and mash them, however you can also use candied yams from the can if you insist you don't have time for that step.

We whipped  these up in less than 30 minutes, and shortly we were piled into my bed in our pajamas watching the parade, plates in hand, and happy as can be.  A very nice moment.  These pancakes were such a hit in our house this morning, that we've decided to make them a Thanksgiving tradition in our house every year.  I love traditions!  So I'm excited to add this healthy sweet treat to ours! 
Serve these up with candied pecans and pure grade A maple syrup.

THE PLAYERS: (your grocery list)

Oat Flour (You'll need one cup and it's found in the same section as regular flour in the subsection where there are organic meals, and/or in the organic section of the grocery store.  Alternately, use the link above to order it online.)  Whole Wheat Flour  (Also one cup of this and it's found in the same section where regular flour is found.) Demerara Sugar (this natural sugar can be found in your baking section, turbinado is also good, but if you can't find either you can use plain granulated.  I used vanilla sugar I made by storing a used vanilla bean in an airtight container full of Demerara sugar) Baking Powder (also in baking goods section where the flour is)Nutmeg (I prefer to keep whole nutmeg nuts in an airtight jar in my spice pantry instead of the pre-ground kind.  You can find whole nutmeg in most stores, especially in international groceries and organic groceries.  When using this you simply use the fine side of a grater or a rasp to take from the nut what you need then replace the rest in the airtight container for use at another time.) Cinnamon (the ground assortment) Cloves (ground) Egg  (You'll need two large eggs) Orange Juice (pulp-free) Milk (1 cup of 2 %  reduced fat) Vegetable Oil (canola, peanut, or vegetable oil are fine...)Mashed Sweet Potatoes (You'll need 1/2 cup)

PREPARATION:

Mix all dry ingredients together:

1c oatmeal flour, 1c whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp ground cloves

 In a separate bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients.

 2 eggs, 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup milk, 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes.
Heat your griddle, add a little peanut oil so your cakes don't stick.
Check your batter, it should pour easily from a ladle.  If it seems a bit thick, add more milk a few tablespoons at a time til it's a consistency you can pour onto your griddle, but not runny.
Pour batter onto hot griddle and spread a bit in a circular motion.  
Do not disturb your cakes until they are done on one side.  
You will know when they are done when you see air bubbles form and begin to burst on the surface, and the edges begin to look dry. 
Flip them over quickly with a griddle spatula (pancake turner).
Let them cook on the other side until brown and  the center of each cake feels slightly firm and no longer soft in the center to the touch. 
Transfer done pancakes to a dish and keep warm in an oven set at the lowest possible temperature until ready to serve.  
Serve with butter, syrup, and garnish with candied pecans. 

Mmm. Mmm. MMM.