Growing Lettuce - Your Own Salad Garden! No comments yet

I love growing my own vegetables, and last year planted a wide variety of veggies in my yard. I was disappointed when my fear of not enough sunshine was realized: while carrots and turnips and radish LOOKED to be growing well, when harvest time came, no roots had developed! In the case of the turnips, the greens were delish. And then I realized: greens! That’s what my space is good for!

So this spring I’m dedicating myself to an all-out lettuce garden. Along the way, I’ve accumulated a few tips that I’ll share here.

Soil for lettuce

If you’re going to sow directly into the earth, be sure your soil is of good quality. If you are using bagged top soil (that’s the primary ingredient in my tire garden), you’ll want to mix it with some peat and maybe a even a little sand. If you are working the earth in your garden or yard, you may want to consider testing your soil first, to make sure it has all the nutrients it needs.

Sowing lettuce seed

I started some seed indoors in peat pots, and quickly learned that you don’t want to place the seeds too deep. About 3/8 of an inch is plenty deep. Otherwise, your seed has to work really hard to break through and your original seedlings will be compromised.

Growing lettuce from transplants

I was lucky to find some lettuce starter plants at the farmer’s market. After two weeks, they were ready for some harvesting! Check out your local farmer’s market, or even your local nursery, for some healthy seedlings. I haven’t had luck with those from the big box stores; they tasted bitter. Someone told me that happens when the plants are forced, so I would avoid the major chain starter plants.

Types of lettuce

There are crispheads, romains, butter heads and leaf lettuces. So far I have only grown leaf varieties, so can’t really speak to the other types. I have grown lettuce before with great success in the Seattle area, but this will be my first year trying it in Michigan. I have several varieties of leaf lettuces planted, including, oak leaf, grand rapids, salad bowl, arugula, and butter crunch. So far they all seem to be doing well. I also sowed chard from seed, which I tend to eat as a lettuce (as a baby, before it gets big).

Tending your lettuce plants

Lettuces love nitrogen-rich soil. I like to feed their need by sprinkling on a little organic blood meal once a week before a big watering. My lettuce loves this!I hear that fish emulsion also does well, but I have avoided that for fear it will attract my cats!

Lettuce is also a water-loving plant (as you could have guessed). You don’t want the soil to get too dry. So far this spring I’ve been lucky with lots of rain, but I know that Michigan can get dry so I’m prepared to mulch (w/ straw) around my matured plants as the weather gets drier. This mulch will also produce nitrogen for the soil as it decomposes, so I’ll also let up on the blood meal treatments when I’m at this stage.

How to harvest lettuce

There are two methods for harvesting leaf lettuce (keep in mind this does not apply to the head lettuces).

• Cut the lettuce about an inch from the soil, leaving in tact the leaves at the middle of the plant, which will continue to grow and produce more lettuce.
• Remove the outer leaves of the plant, leaving the center to continue to mature.

I use the second method, but am only harvesting a few plants for a two-person household. I think cutting is probably the quickest way if you have a larger harvest to tend.

Keep it going!

You’ll find that after about four weeks of harvesting (plant will be about 10-12 weeks from sprouting) your plant will get bitter. This means it’s time to toss that plant onto the compost pile. This means you need to keep a rotating crop. Planting some seeds every 3 to 4 weeks should keep you in plenty of lettuce. I like a salad every night with dinner and have found that ten to twelve lettuce plants per person should keep everyone in plenty of salad (depending on how much you eat!).

Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe - your own personal food revolution No comments yet

Homemade sauerkraut is more than just delicious, it’s actually enormously healthful. For lovers of homemade food everywhere, this basic recipe can be your guide to experimenting with kraut adventures. While kraut has the reputation of being a German food, it’s actually just the German name for the simple brine fermentation that is a common practice of preserving vegetables in cultures throughout the world. Pickles and kimchee are other examples, for instance.

If you love the crunchy, tangy taste of sauerkraut, you’re actually tapping into an ancient tastebud tradition. Fermented vegetables have been in the human diet for thousands of years! Our ancestors were working in harmony with the microbial environment to preserve food with fermentation, and without the aid of a refrigerator, probably even before the advent of fire.

And yet, in the past few generations (you can thank Louis Pasteur for this), we have erased the actual TRUE goodness of sauerkraut and its brethren from the modern American diet. You see, the sauerkraut and pickles you buy in the store have been heat processed, and so robbed of many of the valuable micro nutrients our bodies have thrived on for eons.

But the good news is, you can easily remedy this grave gastric injustice right in your very own kitchen. You can stage a silent coup of the industrial food monopoly in a jar or crock of your own design. So far, there are no food police, so you’re still allowed to enjoy delicious food of made in the privacy of your subversive culinary habitat. And it’s so easy.

Wild Fermentation - How fermented food can change the world

I have to give a shout out to my friend Mike Clark for turning me on to this wonderful book. Wild Fermentation not only tells you how to make kraut from scratch, it chronicles the makings of dozens of fermented culinary delights that anyone can master. This book is more than just a great DIY guide, it’s a manifesto for health, wellness, and whole food, free from industrial processing. Wild Fermentation encourages us to take control of our own diets and take back our culinary history from the powerful food industry that perpetuates our separation from the grounding, life-giving forces of nature.

Everything I learned about sauerkraut I learned from this book by Sandor Ellis Katz. And, yes, I admit it freaked me out at first to be eating something that had been sitting at room temperature for several days. But overcoming my fear has paid off big time. Now there is not a day that a crock of kraut is not seasoning in some corner of my kitchen.

Sauerkraut recipe

A pictoral step-by-step of kraut making.

In this recipe I used equal parts red and green cabbage, plus I added some lovely fresh, local beet greens.

Chop the cabbage and greens into bite-sized pieces.

After producing a thick layer of chopped veggies, sprinkle some sea salt. No need to measure. But err on the light side. A good rule of thumb is about one tablespoon per cabbage head.

Continue until all your vegetables are chopped. Then mix them up, distributing the salt throughout.

Pack the vegetables tightly into a jar or crock. I use a wooden spoon or mallet (intended for meat tenderizing). The crushing of the leaves helps the salt to penetrate the vegetables and draw out the water.

Choose a lid that will fit very snugly inside the crock or jar. A bit of space is allowable, but you want to be sure to keep ALL the vegetables submerged under the brine. You’ll also want to weigh down the lid with a heavy rock or another jar filled with water.

Use a snug fitting lid with a weight,

or use a tightly fitting jar filled with water

to weigh down the kraut below the brine level.

Here I use a tupperware lid,

and weigh it down with a

boiled rock from Lake Michigan!

Press down the weight every few hours or so until you you are assured that water has risen above the vegetables. It can take up to 24 hours for the salt to completely leech the water from the vegetables. If after 24 hours there’s still not enough water to cover the veggies, you’ll want to add a bit of brine. Use 1 tablespoon of salt, completely dissolved, per cup of water.

The brine should be over your lid,

and no veggies showing!

This can take up to 24 hours.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that your lid is snug enough that NO VEGETABLES are floating to the top. Vegetables MUST stay submerged, or you are going to invite the wrong kind of bacteria into your crock - and the result will just be putrid vegetables rather than fermented kraut. (You’ll know from the smell, trust me. And nothing is sadder than having to throw out your lovingly chopped cabbage that never got the chance to fulfill its nutritive potential.)

Leave your crock ajar, but cover it with a towel to keep out dust (or cat hair!)

So now you wait. Don’t seal the crock. Leave it open a crack. You will want to cover it with a clean dish towel to keep dust out, but allow air to circulate. Each day or so you may want to check your crock to be sure all is well. The water has a tendency to evaporate if your home is very dry or the weather is warm. After day four or five you can remove the weight and lid and sample your kraut. I’ve found that day ten to twelve (here in winter in Michigan) is when I find it “perfect” - I then take out a big handful to put it in the fridge to enjoy. I carefully repack the crock, submerging the cabbage and weighing it down, to let the remaining kraut season even further, creating new taste variations as it ages.
Kraut around my house never lasts past week three, as we eat it pretty quickly, but you can continue to store it under brine for many weeks in cool weather. Of course in hot weather the kraut will mature more quickly.

Finished purple kraut

So that’s it! Pretty simple! I like to add my kraut to a sandwich of steamed kale, mustard, and tahini on rye bread for a lovely vegetarian ruben. It’s also amazing on sausages. Or just straight out of the jar! My roommate and I love to just eat a bowl of it when it has finally reached maturity..sort of a little kraut celebration, an epicurean tribute to the wonders of home fermenting!

I’ve experimented with combinations of cabbages and greens - probably my favorite combo being a spicy pink kraut I accomplished by combing four heads of green cabbage, one head of red cabbage, two large bunches of mustard greens, and four tablespoons of mustard seeds.

Makings of spicier kraut

Feel free to experiment! Add garlic and peppercorns. Spinach and kale. Get creative! Enjoy!

Bacon-Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe - Posted by popular demand No comments yet

I heard a fable of an exotic bacon-chocolate chip cookie, which had made an appearance at a party I’d sadly missed. Having been notable enough to be the most mentionable event of the party, I was intrigued. Later, after seeing a lot of online talk about the bacon chocolate bars, I decided to investigate this mythical cookie, intending to recreate its magic for myself.

With the incentive of a party invite, I searched the internet and finally uncovered a recipe in the cache of a defunct blog (RIP neverbashfulwithbutter.com, thanks for the inspiration!). To this, I added a real maple glaze. The cookie was well received (all gone), and I shared a picture on line.

I’ve now had about a dozen requests for the recipe, so why not post it here?

This obviously is NOT health food! But truly a divine treat - containing two of the world’s most loved foods in one cookie! Plus, the maple icing adds a fantastic bridge to lift the sultry smokiness of the bacon to its fully realized high chocolate note.

The trend this anti-shopping holiday season is toward making gifts for the yuletide - imagine the delight and surprise of your family and friends after receiving these delectable beauties from your kitchen!

THE RECIPE

Makes one dozen cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour (I prefer to mix 1 c unbleached white with 1/2 c of Whole Wheat pastry flour, but all white will do)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup bacon bits (this must be REAL bacon that you cooked to crispness, drained of fat on paper towels, and then chopped into bits yourself - nothing less will do! As far as quantity, I used a bit less than 1 pound of bacon to make the cup, leaving out three strips for garnish. But you can adjust according to your bravery or taste.)

ALL TOGETHER NOW

Soften the butter to room temperature before you begin. Beat the butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs until well creamed. Sift together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry mix to the butter and cream mix, and stir together until a batter forms. Add the chocolate chips and bacon bits and stir until combined. Spoon a generous dollop onto a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet (or an oil misted cookie sheet will do, though parchment paper keeps your cookie sheet nicer). Place the dollops at least an inch apart.

Bake cookies for approximately 11 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn brown along the edges. Remove the cookies and allow them to cool while you prepare the glaze.

REAL MAPLE GLAZE

6 level tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Sift the sugar into the syrup. Whisk together vigorously until smooth and creamy.

Place the glaze on the cooled cookies, working with two spoons to help you edge the sticky sweet glob onto the cookie. Top with a piece of crisped bacon.

A NOTE ABOUT INGREDIENTS

I recommend using nitrate-free bacon, which can be had at organic grocers or ordered online. The very finest in bacon comes from Benton’s in Tennessee and can be ordered from Zingerman’s.

Always use the freshest and highest quality eggs and butter you can find. The quality of these ingredients is THE difference between good and amazing baking.

I think you’ll love this cookie as much as my friends and I did. Enjoy!

Quick Bread - making a simple, no-knead, herbed loaf No comments yet

Few acts of cooking are more satisfying than removing a perfect loaf of golden brown, yeasty hot bread from the oven.

Bread has come a long way. Having been in the human diet since the dawn of civilization, with the yeast that creates its leavening power carefully cultivated and passed down through families, all the way to today - where scientists isolate and improve yeast strains for mass commercial production, and bread aficionados possess machines that knead and bake the perfect loaf.

USING YEAST - THE EASY WAY OUT

As a slow food enthusiast, I am currently deep in study of traditional bread making, and am currently nurturing a sourdough starter in a tucked-away corner of my kitchen. But this week was Thanksgiving, and my starter was not yet ready (cold weather rendering its evolution a bit on the slow side). Rather than buy bread, I really wanted to make some. Equipped with a little jar of yeast from the bulk foods store, I perused my recipe collection for a process that would seamlessly fit into my already busy cooking schedule. I stumbled upon an amazingly simple recipe - so easy I felt a bit guilty as though I were cheating. Yet, my guilt was mixed with the pride that comes from making your own staples.

LAST CHANCE FOR HOME-GROWN HERBS

Even though it’s frequently freezing in SE Michigan this time of year, I still have some hearty herbs hanging on in my kitchen garden. They likely won’t last long, so I wanted to make use of them for the holiday meal - perhaps the last meal they will flavor before Spring gives them new life.

Armed with fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage, I set about adapting the recipe for No-Knead Whole Wheat Herb Bread from Vegan Vittles, a popular recipe book for vegan standards. Except that I used real milk, having procured an excellent local source of high-quality, grass-fed milk, which I suppose make this recipe a bit blasphemous. I am sure it works fantastically with rice or soy milk, for those who are inclined.

MY ADAPTED RECIPE

1 1/2 cups milk (regular or soy for vegan version)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup atta, white, or chick pea flour
1/2 small white or yellow onion, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs or 2 tablespoons dried herbs (of your choice)

Heat the milk on med-high, to just before boiling (little bubbles will begin to appear on the edge). Turn off the heat and dissolve the sugar and salt in the milk, and add the oil. allow it to cool to luke warm.

In a big bowl, dissolve the active yeast in the warm water. Add your milk mixture and mix in your flour, onions, and herbs. Mix well with a wooden spoon until well incorporated. This dough will be much “softer” than the dough you are used to kneading. More like a batter, really.

Cover the bowl with a clean, damp tea towel or cheese cloth and allow it to rise in a warm place for about an hour (I have a shelf high above my stove where I place my dough; it’s pretty toasty up there).

The dough will have almost doubled in size when you come back. Right about now you’ll want to turn on the oven to 350 to preheat. Stir up the dough again for ten minutes or so. Then turn the dough into a bread pan that you have coated or misted with olive oil. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes. Bake the loaf for about an hour, until it’s a lovely golden brown color.

DAY-OLD BREAD

Of course bread is best fresh from the oven. But with this bread, it’s especially good the next day, re-heated, as the herbs have infused the bread even more. I recommend enjoying with a pat of butter. If you happen to have any left after day two (unlikely), this bread makes excellent croutons for soup or salad - simply cube and crisp in the oven with a spritz of oil and dash of salt or Parmesan.

It’s important to remember that, unless you have a convection oven, your bread is going to be a little heavier and moister than what you buy commercially. But much more delicious!

Curried Carrot Bisque - the “exotic beauty” of the vegetable soup world No comments yet

Ask me if I’d like some carrot soup and, like most people, I’d answer, “uhh…what are my other options? ” But all that has changed since I discovered this recipe!

I’ve realized in recent months that I was throwing away too much food, so I’m trying to be more disciplined and efficient with what’s on hand. This week I had a big bag of baby carrots, just sitting there, waiting for inspiration. I had not much else in the way of vegetables, either. And true to my mandate to stick with what’s in my fridge, I decided to try to find some way to use those little suckers.

RECIPE BOOK COLLECTION TO THE RESCUE

I use carrots in vegetable soups and salads, but don’t really have any tricks up my sleeve for highlighting them. To the rescue - the always entertaining Isa Chandra Moskowitz, creator of the PPK (Post Punk Kitchen). Whether you’re vegan or not, you’ve gotta love Isa’s style and her cookbooks, just loaded with thoughtful alternatives, enlightening suggestions and inspiration to be creative.

From her book Vegan with a Vengeance I found her recipe for Carrot Bisque. I noted I luckily had all the ingredients on hand — this one calls for a can of coconut milk (I keep a couple of cans from Trader Joe’s tucked away for Thai curry emergencies). So i was all set! I varied the recipe a bit - hers called for curry powder and I just made my own little curry with cumin, red pepper, garam masala and ginger. (Curry is actually a combination of spices that varies from region to region, and even family to family, in India, so I rarely keep the nebulously titled “curry powder” around - instead opt to make impromptu variations.)

CURRY SOUP?! WE HAVE A WINNER!

I have to say the sweet nutty richness of the coconut milk, with the spice of the pepper and cumin, made this a truly complex, satisfying and memorable soup. HIGHLY recommended! (I actually just bought more carrots today, an extra big bag, with plans to pair it with that last can of coconut milk waiting patiently in the pantry.)

COMPLETING THE MEAL

But the challenge was not over! I had to make the soup part of a complete winter-night meal. I had some cooked chick peas that needed to be used or they were going to riot their way right into the garbage can. So I whipped up a little crowd-pleasing hummus, adding cumin to bridge the gap between the two dishes. It was actually a great meal, receiving favorable views from the assembled diners - myself included.

Banana Bread - Just do it! No comments yet

I’m trying my best to eat less convenience foods. So, rather than cracking open a plastic package of something with unpronounceable additives ($3.50 at the local food factory), I’m trying instead to put a little imagination behind the basic ingredients in my pantry. I know that with a little effort I can whip up something with more flavor and nutrition (and at a lower cost!) than anything the food industry can provide on a shelf!

This is not an intimidating task involving years of practice, study, and a dozen cookbooks. It’s just a matter of diving in.

Take, for instance, this morning’s banana bread. Now, I used to think that baking was a science. I believed would-be cooks had to have the exact ingredients, in the right proportions, added in just the right way, or the end result would be a disaster. I’m hear to tell you: NOT SO!! You can be just as adventurous with baking as any other kind of cooking.

Banana bread is a great example. Some recipes will say: “Take 3 to 4 bananas…”

Ummm, ok. Is that three or four? Big bananas or little ones? Define the exact size of said banana - right?

Then there is the egg thing. They rarely say what SIZE egg. What happens if I put two large eggs and they wanted two small ones? Should I just use one Jumbo egg?

What’s a conscientious baker to do?

CREATIVE BAKING

I say: Improvise! For instance, this morning I referenced this banana bread recipe, but only had one banana. So I sort of winged it with my proportions. For the egg, I used enough egg replacer for about 1/2 an egg, then I added about 2/3 less sugar than the recipe called for, and I also put in half whole wheat flour instead of all white. PLUS, I just lumped all the ingredients together and mushed them up with my hands instead of first mixing in the sugar with banana, then adding flour, etc.

I also put the batter into little mini soufflé pans rather than a bread pan. I cooked them on 350 until they looked done (maybe 25 minutes?).

BAKING EXPERIMENT - THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!

The result? Lovely little individual banana breads, perfect for Saturday morning coffee.

So my point is, BE BRAVE! Experiment! EVEN with baking!!! Make foods from the whole ingredients in your pantry, and over time you’ll be surprised at how much money you can save AND how delicious and satisfying the fruits of your culinary adventures can be!

Polenta Rocks - Healthy and affordable gem from the bulk bins No comments yet

Like many people these days, I’m stocking my cupboard with a strict budget in mind. This means coupons and cutting back on a lot of culinary luxuries that I once enjoyed. For instance, only breaking out the truffle oil when I have company, as I can’t justify spending $12 on two ounces of oil any time soon - as much as I ADORE truffle oil!

Part of my strategy is to buy less packaged foods and hit the bulk bins. I even have a great store here in Ann Arbor, called By the Pound, that is just bins and bins of grains, legumes, flours, spices, nuts, fruits - just everything a person could need. Even coffee and sweets. I feel so “smart-shoppery” when I leave there, little sacks of ingredients just waiting to be turned into healthy, economical, and delicious meals at my hand.

As I’ve been stocking up on the essentials, I’ve also been spending more time in the kitchen, as these in-bulk ingredients take a little more skill, thought, and time to become something truly wonderful.

GIVING POLENTA A CHANCE

In the past I’ve enjoyed polenta at restaurants or prepared easily from a pre-made packaged brand. Seeing polenta in my recipe books, it always seemed too involved to make at home. There is a prolonged cooking period - you must boil on the stove and stir frequently. But seeing that the price is so inexpensive, and considering I am spending so much more time in the kitchen anyway, I decided to give it a try. And I am very glad I did!

Polenta wasn’t really that hard to make. There was the stirring in the first few minutes, but I found it just requires a little check in now and again after the first 15 minutes or so. (There are also recipes that involve only baking and no stove top preparation — even better!) I’ve prepared a batch and kept it in the refrigerator as a hearty side that could be baked or fried throughout the week. A small batch lasted for four meals for two people. I even had a little bit for breakfast one morning, and it was very satisfying.

SOME SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

• Fry and serve with beans and greens
• Bake until golden and serve with marinated tofu, topped with salsa
• Bake and serve topped with chili for an especially filling meal
• Bake and top with and your favorite Italian marinara (I like mushrooms and red peppers, myself!)
• Bake or fry and top with goat cheese and chopped herbs

Here are some recipes for creating basic polenta - from the iCook Club and Busy Family Meals. .As I said, I stored the basic prepared polenta in the refrigerator, baking or frying throughout the week. But you can also freeze it. My favorite so far has been with added herbs from the garden along with some chopped mushrooms, just toward the end of boiling.

NOTE ON COOKING POLENTA

when boiling polenta, if it seems to still be under-cooked (i.e. a little crunchy) and yet is already quite thick, feel free to add more water than the recipe calls for until you get the desired consistency!

And if you don’t want to spend time over the stove top, try this version!

If polenta is new to you, I urge you to give it a try. You may find it a favorite addition to your repertoire. I know I did!

Tags: budget, polenta, staples

Whole Wheat Pierogi - New Twist to a Polish Tradition No comments yet

Ever since moving to the Detroit area three years ago, I’ve been delighting in the wonders of scrumptious little dumplings known as pierogi. The Polish population of the area lends itself to some amazing little delis that offer their housemade version of the treat, as well as small-company packaged varieties. The little dumplings can be filled with potatoes, cheese, mushrooms, kraut - some are even filled with a “sweet cheese”! Yum!

I’ve been determined to make them for some time, and finally got my chance this week.

FLOUR SUBSTITUTION - SHORTAGE IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION!

I seem to have a problem rolling out thin sheets of dough. Circumstances were such that I had a borrowed pasta maker for one night (thanks, Sam!) to do the rolling for me. When we got down to business, I was disappointed to realize I’d used all my white flour for cakes earlier in the month. So rather than dash to the store, we decided to try with the flours I had on hand - atta and unbleached whole wheat white.

Atta flour is a whole wheat flour that has a roasted taste. It’s processed very, very fine, so dough made from it can be rolled thinner than the courser-ground whole wheats we are used to seeing. Atta is used for naan and chipati. (I keep it around for pretzels.) Overall, the results with these non-traditional flours were delicious.

There was no shortage of recipes on line, but I stuck with one that was easily adapted to vegan ingredients. I think with a thinner dough I would’ve had a higher (and better) filling-to-dough ratio, and will aim for that next time. But for now, they taste great, and I like the fact they are a little healthier than the traditional recipe!

In retrospect, I wish I’d used more atta flour, which would’ve made a stretchier dough (and thinner). I’m modifying my final recipe here to include more atta, thinking this ratio will be best for anyone wanting to try this non-traditional twist…

THE DOUGH

and..

THE FILLING

Cheese and potato

Dice onion and saute in butter. Mix well with the potatoes and shredded cheese, and add salt and pepper. Allow to cool before filling the dumplings.

Sauerkraut

Rinse sauerkraut, but not so much that all the tang is gone! Saute onion in butter/margarine. Chop Kraut and add to onions. Add salt and pepper, stirring occasionally. Let cool for 20 minutes before filling dumplings.

PREPARATION

Make dough by simply mixing sifted four together with all other ingredients and knead in bowl. Rest it for 1/2 hour, covered. Then knead the dough again on a floured surface. You can either roll to 1/8 inch thickness, or use a pasta maker, like I did, to roll the dough thin. Cut out circles with a glass or large can edge - you’ll want the diameter of the circle to be between 3 - 4 inches.

Sifting the flour - beside our cheese and potato filling.

Putting a bit of dough through the pasta maker.

Cutting out the circle.

Fill with about a table poonful of your favorite filling. Then wet the edge of half the circle and press the edges together. Be sure to seal VERY well, as you don’t want the filling spilling out into the boiling water as they cook!! Heartbreaking!

Adding some filling - Kraut in this one.

Wetting the edge on a potato-filled pierogi.

Pinching the edges tightly together.

Ready to boil!

Bring water to a boil and add salt, just as if you were cooking pasta. Drop the pierogi gently into the boiling water. When the pierogi float to the top, turn down the heat to a low boil, and cook for about 5-7 more minutes. Remove the finished pierogi with slotted spoon.

Ready to enjoy!

EAT THEM UP!

At this point you can either serve them right from the boil with melted butter, or lightly fry them in butter or margarine (my favorite way!) until they brown, as in the picture at the top of the post. Some people even make a sour cream sauce with chopped onion, butter, and sour cream and pour this over the top of their pierogi.

You’ll want to eat what you make within a week, but pierogi also freeze really well. We sprayed some with olive oil to keep them from sticking and tucked them away for later! As long as you’re taking the time to assemble these little guys, you may as well make a bunch to enjoy for several meals.

Homemade Applesauce - Martha Stewart, eat your heart out! 1 comment

In the tradition of Michiganders everywhere, I went to one of the many orchards in the area to pick apples, eat donuts (which, by the way, taste exactly like the donuts in your dreams), and drink apple cider

And, like Michiganders everywhere, I came back home with WAY more apples than my household will ever consume. Empire, Gala, Jonathan, Cortland, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith! They all looked so good, I had to get a few of each, and I ended up with a little over a peck.

PIE ALTERNATIVES, ANYONE?

What to do? I issued a plea for an idea (other than pie) to the twitterverse, and a very simple reply came forth: applesauce!

But still, I’m thinking, that’s going to be all that peeling and chopping…so much work! And while discussing my dilemma in my morning carpool, my friend and car pool buddy Jona - who once worked at the famous and revered Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor - told me: you don’t have to peel the apples, as long as you chop them into bite sized pieces. That’s how they do it at Zingerman’s! Skin-on Applesauce! He also told me another hint: cook the apples down in apple cider!

ROLLING UP MY SLEEVES

And so, armed with little more than a carpool anecdote, I got to work. I chopped those gorgeous apples, all different colors and textures and degrees of sweet and tart, into bite sized pieces, coring as I went. It took some time, but not nearly as much as peeling would have! I used about half a peck. Then added nearly a quart of apple cider. I had drunk some of the quart, so didn’t have as much as I’d like. I wanted to fill the pot to ALMOST cover the apples, as I’d been instructed. So added a bit of water to make up for it. Then I put the pot on a low setting and slowly cooked the apples for about three hours, occasionally stirring and mashing as they became softened.

The instruction I got was that I wouldn’t need sugar, but perhaps the apple mix I used was more tart. I did eventually add about 1/4 cup of honey and half a cup of sucanat (unrefined raw sugar). Added together with ginger, nutmeg and three cinnamon sticks, the results were stunning!

This was the most complex and delicious applesauce I’ve ever had! It was delicious hot, just made, and also cold, some days later. I am still eating on it, about a week later, but it’s getting low. I’ve envisioned re-heating this apple sauce in an oven dish and dropping sweet biscuit dough, butter, and cinnamon/sugar onto it, to make a sort of apple cobbler. I may get to that, if it doesn’t disappear first!

Tire Garden Experiment - Enhancing the kitchen with homegrown freshies 4 comments

Well, my apologies for the lack of posts as of late. My camera went kerplunk and it’s been hard for me to invest $ in a new one when this one is less than a year old. I’ve sent it off to the happy place for a repair, but in the meantime, I’ve borrowed a friend’s camera in order to bring you this snap of the current state of my tire garden.

My goal with this garden was to be able to throw together a fresh salad in a moment’s notice, without a trip to the store or farmer’s market. So most of my veggies are salad-inspired, although several are cookable, such as zucchini and kohlrabi. And of course I have herbs.

I have a total of 10 tires growing a variety of veggies, from cabbages to radishes to arugula to onions. Here’s how it went down: I called a local tire place and asked if I they could donate some old tires for the cause; they gladly complied. I washed them out thoroughly with Simple Green to get rid of any gross road dirt or heavy metals. Then I bought a very sturdy serrated knife/saw from the hardware store and cut the outer wall of one side of each tire, in order to provide the most surface area. (Special thanks to my dear friend Michael for all the help in cutting that rubber! It was no easy feat.)

I have special circumstances in my yard: the sunlight is scant. I set six of my tires in the center of the yard, where it gets about five hours of sun. I placed four other tires in two spots that had less measurable sun exposure.

So far, predictably, the greens, like spinach, rape, and arugula, are doing well. Also, my red cabbage plants are out of control! Zucchini is also growing like something from outer space. The turnips, onions, and radishes are faring well. Also, all my herbs are looking good. But kohlrabi, peas, peppers, and tomatoes seem to be less spunky, although still looking healthy. Carrots and eggplant are having a tough time, still appearing as mere sprouts even after six weeks from sowing. I attribute the lack of success with some of these plants to the limited amount of sunlight. And will take these learnings and apply to next year’s planning.

I learned in my research for this stuffed garden space that bushing plants, as well as root plants, are best for the limited amount of space. I’ve somewhat violated this wisom by trying out some vining veggies in hopes of trellissing for maximum space utilization. So far it is too early to see how my deviations will pay off. Stay tuned!