Week 5: Turnip Potage (+ bonus beets)

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January 31, 2012

This week’s recipe comes from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison. A Rough and Ready Turnip Potage:

6 slender leeks (about 3/4″ across)
3 small Yukon Gold potatoes
6 small turnips
1 1/2Tbsp unsalted butter
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
cream
fresh thyme

Slice the white part of the leeks crosswise and wash well. Scrub potatoes, quarter them, and chop. If turnip skins are tender, quarter and chop without peeling.

Melt the butter in your soup pot. Add veggies and give them a toss. Then add 1/2c water and thyme. Simmer for 5 min, add 5c water and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, the simmer until veggies are tender, about 25-30 min. Taste for salt, add pepper and a few spoonfuls of cream. Garnish with more thyme.

We used freshly made chicken stock instead of the water, and this came out fantastic. Served it alongside a lovely bacon and chive and cheddar quiche.


Bonus! I made roasted beets last night and WOW were they delicious. Golden beets, thyme instead of rosemary, this recipe: allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-beet-wedges
Now I just have to figure out what to do with all of the leftover fresh thyme.
I have too much thyme on my hands…. la la la la…..

Categories: Uncategorized.

Today’s Tea: Black with Elderberry

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January 27, 2012

I just can’t get over the way black tea with elderberries transforms its flavor when I add milk. Morgan theorizes that some flavor component must be fat soluble rather than water soluble. Regardless, I highly recommend drinking today’s tea with a dab of honey and milk. (I used whole.)

2/3tsp. black tea
1/3tsp. dried elderberries

Steep 5 min in boiling water.

Categories: Tea.

Week Four: Oven-Baked Barley with Mushrooms

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January 24, 2012

Schemed by me, published by the Joy of Cooking, cooked by Raf, and enjoyed by everyone! It’s…

Oven-Baked Barley with Mushrooms!

3 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup pearl barley
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350*F.
Melt or heat in a 2-quart stovetop-to-oven casserole over medium-high heat (we used my Dutch oven):
3 tablespoon olive oil
Add and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are lightly browned, about 8 minutes:
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Add and stir until coated:
1 cup pearl barley
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Add:
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon salt
Bring to a boil. Cover, transfer to the oven, and bake until the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes before serving.

Savory, salty but not too, and filling. Next time I will diversify the mushrooms instead of using just portabello. We served ours with breaded pork chops, homemade apple-pear sauce, and salad.

Categories: Cooking, Recipe A Week 2012.

Today’s Tea, Monday January 16th

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January 16, 2012

1 part linden flowers
1 part spearmint
2/3 part lavender
2/3 part chamomile

A delicious blend, analogous to but not identical with Celestial Seasonings’ Sleepytime. I recommend more spearmint next time. Good with honey.

Categories: Beverages, Recipes, Tea.

Week Two: Slow Cooker Baked Beans

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January 11, 2012

Slow Cooker Homemade Beans is a recipe I found on allrecipes.com (one of my favorite cooking haunts on the web. I’m really excited to try my hand at cooking with dry beans, since I have lots of free time and love saving money. Since I already know I like baked beans, where better to start? Future recipes may include soups with beans in them.

Night before: I boiled the beans briefly and left them to soak overnight.
The morning: With Raf’s help, rinsed the beans, measured water and tossed beans into slow cooker with just the onions and water. (Comments on the recipe site suggest that adding acid and salt ingredients to beans too soon keeps them from softening.) Blended the bacon and sauce ingredients and stuck them in the fridge. Turned slow cooker on high and ran off to do errands.
After grocery shopping: mixed sauce into beans and turned down to low. This was after about 3 hours of cooking.

The results: Incomparable flavor that only gets better in leftovers. BUT, the beans were still a little too firm. Planning to try an oven-baked old fashioned baked bean recipe from the Joy of Cooking just as soon as I finish these leftovers and get in the mood for beans again. :)

Categories: Recipe A Week 2012.

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