Apple Blueberry Crisp

September 25, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Apple crisp with blueberry sounded like a great idea. It’s what was for dessert.

Preheat oven to 350

6-8 Macintosh apples or another good baking apple

1 cup blueberries

lemon zest

juice of 1/2 lemon (1 Tablespoon)

1/4 c sugar

grated nutmeg (about 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 c flour

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

1/2 c oatmeal

1 tsp cinnamon

1 stick cold butter

Peel, core and slice apples. Toss with lemon zest and juice, 1/4 c sugar, and spices. Spread apples out in a deep 8×8 casserole dish that has been greased or sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle blueberries over apples.

Whisk together flour, sugars, and oatmeal. Work butter into dry ingredients with your hands or use the paddle on your stand mixer. Sprinkle the crisp over the fruit and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Serve warm with whipping cream or vanilla ice cream.

This recipe can be doubled and baked in a deep 9×13 pan. In case of bubble-over you may want to put the pan on a foil lined cookie sheet.

Salmon Patties aka Burgers

September 25, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Do you remember salmon patties and creamed peas from your childhood? Actually I don’t. I don’t think we ever had salmon patties but almost everyone I know remembers them. And not necessarily fondly. I decided I wanted to give salmon patties a try. Minus the creamed peas. Corn on the cob instead.

1 1/2-2 pounds salmon; fresh is best (skin removed, bones removed)

1/2 red or yellow bell pepper diced

3/4 cup panko crumbs

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 T soy sauce

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp salt

Pulse the salmon in your food processor. If you don’t have a food processor cut into a small dice.

Add the remaining ingredients to the salmon and and gently combine. Don’t over mix. Form into patties or burgers. Lightly oil a heavy skillet. I used my cast iron. Heat the skillet over medium heat and cook 5 minutes per side.

Serve on a bun with lettuce, tomato, mayo, a nice slice of onion. Or with no bun and sides of your choice like corn on the cob, red skin potatoes, left over Mac and cheese or creamed peas.

If I had had these salmon patties as a kid I think I would remember them fondly.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

September 22, 2014September 25, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Stuffed bell peppers…it’s what’s for dinner.

1 pound ground beef, pork or turkey

4 sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or green…you choose)

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion diced

2 stalks of celery diced

pepper tops diced

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup cooked long grain white or brown rice

1 pint/can stewed tomatoes

1 14-oz can tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 T dried basil

1/2 cup shredded asiago or Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds. Par-boil the peppers in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes. Remove and put the peppers in a casserole lined with non-stick foil. Preheat oven to 350.

Sauté diced onion, pepper, celery and garlic for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Add meat of your choosing and brown. Remove from heat. Stir in rice, seasonings, and asiago or Parmesan cheese.

Combine tomatoes and tomato sauce and whisk together. Add approximately one cup of tomato sauce to meat and rice mixture. Fill peppers. Top with remaining tomato sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and top with shredded mozzarella and bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and peppers are thoroughly heated. Plate peppers and top with some of the tomato gravy.

Serve with crusty bread, apple sauce and a tossed salad.

Today someone posted a recipe for stuffed pepper soup. Maybe tomorrow I’ll use the leftover peppers and make them into soup.

Addendum:

Day two of stuffed peppers. I decided to reinvent the leftover peppers and make soup. I sliced a carrot, diced a medium onion, diced a couple stalks of celery, and shredded a cup or more of cabbage. I put a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a heavy soup kettle and once it was hot sweated the vegetables for 3-4 minutes. I added a pint of stewed tomatoes, 4 cups of chicken broth, and the leftover peppers that I had diced. I also added a can of cannellini beans for a little extra protein.

I brought the the soup to a simmer and simmered it until the flavors were married.

I thought the soup was yummy served with some crusty bread and crackers. If you have family members who refuse to eat leftovers reinventing them is a perfect option.

Apple Slices in Cinnamon Red Hot Syrup

September 22, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

It’s apple season! I’ve been in a canning frenzy this month and I had to do apples. I got a bushel and a half of apples; a variety of apples because the combination of sweet/tart and textures makes the best apple sauce. I made several batches of apple sauce. I use minimal sugar…maybe a half cup of sugar for 7 pints worth of apples and a bit of cinnamon. Mostly I just want the bright, natural taste of apples in the sauce. Apple sauce is very easy to do. Peel, core and slice the apples, put them in a large kettle, add just enough water to keep the apples from burning and cook over medium high heat until the apples are tender. I like chunky apple sauce so I mash the apples with my potato masher or you can use an immersion blender.

Ladle hot applesauce into hot, sterilized jars leaving a half inch of headspace. Use a wooden or plastic spatula remove air bubbles and put the two piece lids on the jar. Process pints in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Remove and put hot jars on a towel or wooden board to cool. Voila! You have applesauce to enjoy all winter. Well I did a LOT of applesauce and wanted to try something different so I got out my Ball Blue Book and found a recipe for…

Apple Wedges in Cinnamon Red Hot Sauce

8-10 pounds of apples (use firm apples)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cinnamon red hot candies

2 cinnamon sticks broken into several pieces

2 tsp whole cloves

1 tsp ginger

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups white or cider vinegar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

More peeling, coring, and slicing! You may want to treat your apples with fresh fruit produce protector or lemon juice to keep your apple slices from browning while you work.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large heavy kettle and slowly bring to a boil.

Add apple wedges to syrup mixture, stir, cover and simmer 4-5 minutes. Pack hot apples into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Ladle hot syrup over apples leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles. Adjust caps and process in hot water bath for 15 minutes.

They look beautiful! They will be wonderful to serve as a side with pork or poultry. The red hots and ginger give them a little kick. Apples are all canned. Now I need to find space to store them all!

Spiced Peaches

September 15, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I have been in a bit of a canning frenzy lately. Produce has looked particularly beautiful this year and once I got started I didn’t want to stop. One of my favorite new recipes is for spiced peaches. I bought a bushel of peaches and did half of them in a light syrup, spiced nearly half a bushel and made jam out of the remainder. I found peeling peaches much more time consuming and challenging than peeling beets and tomatoes. I dropped them into boiling water and then into an ice bath just like tomatoes but the peach skin wasn’t quite as cooperative. The first thing you need to do is get rid of the fuzzy peach skin and then we can start spicing the peaches.

As with any canning project you will need to sterilize your jars in a boiling water bath.

You will need:

Approximately 40 peaches peeled and sliced

7 cups of sugar

2 cups of water

1 cup white vinegar

2 cinnamon sticks crushed (I wrapped them in a dish towel and smashed them with a hammer)

12 whole cloves

Combine sugar, water, and vinegar in a large heavy kettle. Bring to a boil and continue to simmer until liquid begins to thicken. Add peaches and spices and simmer until peaches are thoroughly heated.

Once the fruit is heated fill your prepared jars with the peaches and cover with the syrup leaving a half inch of head space. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes. Remove jars to a towel to cool.

You can can your peaches whole, halved or sliced.

These peaches can replace syrup on your pancakes or waffles, spice up your oatmeal, add interest to ham, pork chops or chicken, or serve as an ice cream topping. Or just eat them out of the jar. If you like peaches you will love these!

Lamb Stew with Puff Pastry

September 15, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

It’s a cold September Sunday and stew sounds comforting. I have lamb stew meat in the freezer but this recipe would be good with beef as well. Stews and soups are the kinds of one pot meals you can throw together with whatever you have on hand.

Get out your large Dutch oven and let’s get started with our stew. It’s what’s for dinner.

3 T canola or olive oil

1 # lamb or beef stew meat

1/3 c flout

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 c dry white wine

3 T butter

3 T flour

4 c broth (beef, mushroom or vegetable)

14-oz can stewed tomatoes

1/2 c celery diced

1 c carrots diced

1 c rutabaga diced

1 c onion diced

1 1/2 c potatoes diced

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

1 pkg frozen puff pastry (optional)

1 egg beaten + 1 T water

Heat 3 T oil in heavy Dutch oven over med high heat. In a large zip lock bag combine 1/3 c flour and spices. Add stewing meat and toss to coat. Add meat in batches being careful not to crowd and brown.

Remove meat to a plate and continue until all meat is browned. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 c white wine (or broth) and stir to incorporate all the browned bits. Add 3 T butter and melt. Whisk in 3 T flour to form a roux. Continue whisking over medium high heat and gradually add the broth. I like to use “better than bouillon” to make my broth but use your favorite.

Once you’ve added the broth and it’s come to a boil reduce heat and add tomatoes (I use my home canned tomatoes) and diced vegetables.

Cover your pot and put in a 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 – 2 hours until meat and vegetables are tender.

Once the stew is done ladle into four individual oven proof dishes. Roll out the puff pastry and cut to fit the ramekins. Brush with egg wash and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Serve with a tossed salad.

You can change out or add other vegetables to your stew…green beans, turnips, parsnips, peas. You can serve your stew without the pastry… Just ladle into serving dishes and serve with bread and salad. Stew is one of the ultimate comfort foods.

Swedish Cinnamon Twists

September 10, 2014September 13, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

A friend recently gave me this recipe and since it’s a dreary, rainy day I thought baking would be a good idea. The house smells wonderful. I know, this is the Finnish Dish and these are Swedish twists so if I make them for my Dad I will put cardamom seeds in them and tell him it’s an old Finnish recipe. The recipe is fairly simple and made enough for a very large coffee klatch. Thanks to my friend and neighbor for sharing this recipe with me.

Let’s get started with our Swedish Twists.

Two .25-oz packages active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp if you buy yeast in jars like I do).

1/2 c warm water

Dissolve yeast in warm water.

8 T unsalted butter, melted

2 c warmed buttermilk

2 large eggs

6 T granulated sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Add the warmed buttermilk, butter, sugar, eggs, salt and baking soda to the dissolved yeast. Mix well.

7 1/2 c all purpose flour

Stir in flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes).

Place dough in a greased bowl turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours). I always think that using my grandmother’s bread bowl makes my yeast breads extra special.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each into a 16×19 inch rectangle. For the filling:

4 T unsalted butter melted

1 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Brush each rectangle of dough with the melted butter and then sprinkle with the brown sugar cinnamon mixture.

Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise and pinch edges to seal. Cut into one inch strips and twist each strip a few times. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. While the dough is rising a second time preheat your oven to 375.

Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Combine the following ingredients to make a glaze and drizzle over twists while they are still warm.

1 c powdered sugar

1 T unsalted butter melted

1 T hot water

Whisk together and drizzle over warm twists.

When I’m baking or cooking I find it easier to prep all my ingredients before I start…measuring out everything so I don’t have to stop and start continually and so I don’t forget if I’ve added something.

Whenever I make a recipe the first time I mostly following the instructions. I will try adding some cardamom seed to my dough next time and perhaps a tablespoon of orange juice in place of the water and some orange zest to the glaze. But these are awfully good just as they are. Tomorrow I’ll pack some up and take them with me to share with my knitting lady friends. Thanks for sharing your recipe Deb.

Tomatillo and Pork Chili

September 3, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I love to go through cooking magazines and find recipes that look interesting, have lots of veggies, and different spice combos. I’m fortunate that I have a husband who eats almost everything and anything. This is a recipe that I found in Eating Well. I’ve made a couple modifications…one on purpose, another quite by accident. But I’ve made it several times and we always enjoy it.

Tomatillo and Pork Chili…it’s what’s for dinner tonight.

In a large Dutch oven heat 3T of olive oil over medium heat. Add:

1 large onion diced

1# ground pork (I used ground pork breakfast sausage)

Cook until meat is no longer pink.

Add:

3 cups diced tomatillos

1 cup diced pablano pepper (about 2 medium)

Now add your seasoning:

2 T minced chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

3 T dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

Now add the canned goods:

1 15 oz can cannelloni beans (white kidney beans)

1 15 oz can white or yellow hominy

Rinse the beans and hominy before adding.

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (I used my home canned stewed tomatoes)

Finally, add the liquid:

4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

OR, as I mistakenly did,

3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth and

1 12-oz bottle lager style beer 🙂

Bring to a boil and reduced heat to a simmer. Cook on low partially covered for about 50 minutes until the liquid is reduced and thickened.

Serve this chili with any or all of the following garnishes:

Sliced black olives , cheddar or jack cheese, diced green onions, diced avocado, or jalapeños. Like me, you can modify to your personal taste. I’m fortunate that I have an awesome organic farm very near by where I get excellent meats. I love their breakfast sausage and tried that as an experiment and it worked!

Now I need to make us some cornbread to go with the chili. I’ll post the cornbread later.

Overnight Pickles

August 28, 2014September 13, 2014 / featherheadlady / Leave a comment

Last night I experimented with “overnight” pickles. A recipe a good friend shared with me after enjoying the pickles in California while visiting family. If she loved them I was sure I would too. I like crisp, fresh tasting pickles and these fit the bill. No canning experience necessary. Here goes…

10-12 Kirby cucumbers scrubbed clean and sliced into approximately 1/2 inch slices

1small Vidalia onion sliced thinner than the cucumbers

1 sweet red pepper julienned

4-5 cloves of garlic

fresh dill fronds

Combine:

2 c white vinegar

2 c sugar

2 T kosher or canning salt

2 tsp dill seed

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Pour dressing over the vegetables and toss. Pack the vegetables and dill fronds in a large glass jar and add dressing to cover the veggies. Refrigerate and enjoy! I made a double batch.

I tasted one with my coffee in the morning and they’re great! They were even better in the afternoon.

Granola

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014 / featherheadlady / 1 Comment

Granola is great with yogurt and fruit, as a topping on ice cream, adding a little crunch and texture to hot cereal, or just as a snack by itself. I’m sure there are many other ways to enjoy it!

I made a batch this morning and am looking forward to having some with my yogurt as soon as I’m done posting this recipe.

In a large mixing bowl combine:
3 cups of oats (I use old fashion oats)
1 1/2 c nuts, rough diced (I use a combination of pecans, walnuts, and almonds)
1 1/2 c coconut shavings (not the sweetened coconut you find in the baking aisle)
1/2 c wheat germ, quinoa flakes, or flax seed…I used flax seed in this batch
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a smaller bowl combine wet ingredients:
1/4 c coconut oil (warmed), mild olive oil or canola oil (I like to use the coconut oil)
1/2 c agave syrup, honey, or maple syrup (I used 1/4 c each of agave and honey)

Pour over dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, stir well. Pour mixture onto a large jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides) and spread evenly.

Bake at 300 for 30 minutes stirring mixture every 10 minutes. Granola should be a light golden brown when it’s done.

I spread butcher paper or parchment paper on my counter top and spread the granola out to cool.

While it is still warm stir in:
1 c dried cherries
1 c golden raisins
Or 2 cups of your favorite dried fruits (apricots, cranberries, figs, etc)

Once the granola has cooled store in tightly sealed containers.

Enjoy!!!

The Finnish Dish

Cooking in Michigan with Ruth

Recipes

Apple Blueberry Crisp

Salmon Patties aka Burgers

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Apple Slices in Cinnamon Red Hot Syrup

Spiced Peaches

Lamb Stew with Puff Pastry

Swedish Cinnamon Twists

Tomatillo and Pork Chili

Overnight Pickles

Granola