Healthy Colorful Coleslaw

With the arrival of summer and the season of barbecue, I thought I would share my favorite recipe for healthy colorful coleslaw.   Serve alongside burgers or pulled pork.  Happy Summer!

Coleslaw
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking
Makes 8 servings

1/2 cup mayonnaise (homemade or storebought mayo made with avocado oil or olive oil is ideal)
1 Tablespoon raw honey
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seed
4 cups shredded green and/or red cabbage
2 tablespoons sweet or red onion, grated (add more or less to taste- I often omit the onions altogether)
2 carrots, grated
salt and pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, honey, cider vinegar, and celery seed.

In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, onion, and carrot.  Add the dressing, salt and pepper to taste and toss well.

Mexican Rice with Black Beans

Happy Decimo de Mayo!  Ok, I'm five days late in posting this recipe for Cinco de Mayo.  It's the story of my life these days, especially when it comes to this poor neglected blog.  Would someone please stop time so I can get caught up?!  Thank you.

I was pleasantly surprised when my cilantro patch survived the mild winter we had this year.  I love cilantro, so I've been trying to cook as much as I can with it before it bolts in this Spring heat wave.

I made this Mexican rice to serve with enchiladas (recipe coming soon!).  I don't think I'll need to go out for Mexican food anymore - I can make it at home - quite easily it turns out. The most tedious part of the Enchiladas with Mexican Rice was washing all the dishes - it made quite the mess of my kitchen.    But it was worth it.  It's delicioso!

{This recipe makes a good amount, but the leftovers freeze well.}

Mexican Rice with Black Beans

adapted slightly from Best International Recipes by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated

2 ripe tomatoes (about 12 ounces), cored and quartered

1 medium onion, preferably white, peeled, trimmed of root end, and quartered

3 medium jalapeno chiles

2 cups long grain white rice

1/3 cup canola oil

4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 ½ teaspoons table salt

1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

1 lime, cut into wedges for serving

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Process tomatoes and onion in food processor until smooth and thoroughly pureed, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl if necessary. Transfer mixture to liquid measuring cup; you should have 2 cups (if necessary, spoon off excess so that volume equals 2 cups).

 Remove ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños and discard; mince flesh and set aside. Mince remaining jalapeño, including ribs and seeds; set aside.

Place rice in large fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear, about 1 1/2 minutes. Shake rice vigorously in strainer to remove all excess water.

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed oven-safe 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Drop 3 or 4 grains rice in oil; if grains sizzle, oil is ready. Add rice and fry, stirring frequently, until rice is light golden and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and seeded minced jalapeños; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in pureed tomatoes and onions, chicken broth, tomato paste, and salt; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. 

Cover pan and transfer to oven; bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 30 to 35 minutes.  Stir in the black beans about halfway through the baking time.

Stir in cilantro and reserved minced jalapeño with seeds to taste. Serve immediately, passing lime wedges separately.

Make and Freeze...Applesauce

Our new house has four huge oak trees on the property. Two are registered more than 200 years old and the other two are probably as old as our 80-year-old house. These oaks produce a ton of acorns and the squirrels have been scurrying around trying to collect what they can before winter settles in.

As I watch the squirrels do their thing, it occurred to me that I'm a little like that too. I hoard seasonal foods when they are plentiful and store them in my freezers to eat all winter long. When strawberries are plentiful, I'm freezing bags and bags of them to use in smoothies. When tomatoes are abundant, I make and freeze tomato puree for use in soups and sauces, and I freeze pizza sauce and marinara sauce in containers just the right size to serve my family one meal. I freeze raspberries for pies, locally raised chickens for roasting and local organic beef in 40-pound installments. I've got two full upright freezers and two refrigerator freezers and they're nice and full this time of year.

I thought some of you might be interested in some basic freezing advice and so I'm starting a new series called "Make and Freeze". Here I will highlight recipes and techniques for freezing foods that are in season for use throughout the year. If you have anything to add, or if you do it a little differently, I'd love to hear about it in your comments! So grab a bunch of apples and let's make and freeze some applesauce!

Choose your apples...

To make smooth applesauce, choose an apple variety which is soft and sweet such as Macintosh (used here), Galas or Fuji, or use any combination of these or other varieties of apples. If you're looking for more information, Pickyourown.org lists many of the varieties of apples and what they are best used for.

Prepare the apples...

Wash the apples in a tub of water, quarter them and remove the core. Some may think it's not necessary to remove the core, but I like to remove it just to be sure there won't be any hard bits of core that end up in the sauce. If you have a food mill, you can leave the skins on which will save you a lot of time. If you do not have a food mill, you can peel the apples and use a food processor or even a potato masher after the apples have been cooked.

Cook the apples...

Place the apples in a large stock pot and add just enough water or apple cider to coat the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching. I added about 1/4 cup of water. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pot and cook over med-high heat. Stir once or twice in the beginning until the apples start to release their juices, then lower the heat to medium and keep the lid on until the apples are completely steamed through. This might take 15 to 20 minutes or so.

When the apples are cooked, the applesauce aroma will start to fill the kitchen and they should look like the photo below. Give the apples one more stir to feel for any apples which are not quite cooked. If you feel any uncooked apple chunks, cook for another 5 minutes or so with the lid on until all the apples are soft.

Mash the apples...

While still hot, spoon the apples into a food mill. I use the disc with medium holes since I like my applesauce not too chunky and not too smooth. If you have peeled your apples, you can let them cool a bit and use a food processor or simply mash them with a potato masher right in the pot.

Kids love to help turn the crank on the food mill so if you've got any kids around, put them to work! Here are the apples - skins and all - ready for milling.

After the apples go through the mill, they will look like this.

Sweeten and spice up your applesauce...

While the applesauce is still hot, you can add the cinnamon and sugar if you like. I prefer to leave them unsweetened these days, but if you want to add sugar,  add it when the sauce is still warm so the sugar will dissolve completely. Add just a little at a time and taste it as you go until the applesauce is just as sweet as you like it.  

Do the same for the cinnamon. Cinnamon is not optional in my opinion, and if you add cinnamon, you might find you don't need to add as much sugar.  I like plenty of cinnamon, but you could omit it or add it later if you prefer.

Contain and freeze your applesauce...

Place your applesauce in containers and let them cool to room temperature with the lids off until they come to room temperature or are just slightly warm, then cover and freeze. I love these Ziploc square quart-size containers. They stack nice and neat in the freezer and hold just the right amount to serve our family of 5 with dinner. A half bushel yielded about 10 quarts of applesauce and I filled about 3 stockpots full of uncooked apples.

Be sure to label the containers with the contents and the date. This applesauce is so much more flavorful and thicker than the applesauce from the supermarket.  If you've got extra apples, make a little or a lot and freeze the extra.

Eat your applesauce...

I like to add just a sprinkling more cinnamon just for good measure!

My Favorite Creamy Corn and Queso Fresco Cheese

While fresh corn is still in season, I thought I'd share with you my favorite corn recipe.

Aside from the corn itself, the major players in this recipe are cilantro and queso fresco cheese. Queso Fresco is a mexican cheese that has the texture of feta cheese but it has a milder taste. It would be great for taming hot peppers in a mexican dish and I could see it working perfectly in a spicy enchilada.

Depending on where you live, queso fresco cheese may be hard to track down. My closest grocery stores don't carry it. In fact, they didn't have the slightest idea what I was talking about when I asked. But the Wal-mart which is 20 minutes from our new place has 3 or 4 varieties - an entire shelf just for this cheese!

This corn recipe isn't spicy, but the cheese melts into the corn and makes it creamy and delicious. If you like hot peppers, add a finely chopped jalapeno to the recipe. 

Cheesy Creamed Corn
adapted from Gourmet | September 2009
Makes 6 servings

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped scallions (about 6 large)

1 large garlic clove
12 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons cornstarch
6 ounces queso fresco or mild feta, crumbled (1 1/3 cups)
1 cup cilantro sprigs (could substitute basil if you're not a cilantro fan)

Heat butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then cook scallions, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeño, and corn and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

Stir together cream and cornstarch in a small bowl until thoroughly combined, then add to corn and simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

Transfer corn to a large shallow serving bowl and sprinkle cheese and cilantro on top.

Spaghetti Squash with Ricotta

My favorite way to eat spaghetti squash couldn't be simpler! Halve the spaghetti squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place some water and a steamer basket in a large pot with a lid over med-high heat. Place the two halves of the squash, cut side down in the pot and steam until tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes. Using a fork, remove the flesh of the squash onto a serving plate or bowl. Top the steaming squash with a large dollop of ricotta cheese, drizzle a flavorful extra-virgin olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Sauteed Mushrooms

Sauteed Mushrooms and crusty Semolina Bread are delicious additions to this menu including  Grilled Filet Mignon, and Cranberry Walnut Salad.  Finished the meal with a Pear Custard Galette for dessert and this delicious coffee.  I don't think anyone would be disappointed with this meal!

Sauteed Mushrooms

Serves 6

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

2-3 shallots or 1/4 cup red onion or scallions, minced

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

a splash of dry vermouth

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. After the butter stops foaming, add the shallots, sliced mushrooms and thyme springs and saute over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add some salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms are slightly browned and caramelized. Add the vermouth and cook for a few more minutes while scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Remove the thyme sprigs before serving.

Fresh Herbs and an Alfresco Summer Meal

Herb Identification from top left to right:
Dill, Oregano, St. John's Wort, Lemon Bergamot
Rosemary, Parsley, Sage, Tarragon
Thyme, Lemon Basil, Pineapple Sage, Sweet Basil
Cilantro, Lavender, Mint, Lemon Basil

One of my favorite things about summer is my herb garden and being able to pick fresh herbs whenever they're needed for a tasty summer meal. When Aunt Lisa came to our house a few nights ago, I grabbed some herbs and it all came together. We ate outside on the back patio, surrounded by the gardens that provided the delicious flavors for the menu: Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Marinade , Zucchini and Herb Saute, Oven Roasted Rosemary Potatoes. Bon Appetit!



Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Marinade
1/2 cup fresh lemon-basil, finely chopped (or substitute your favorite herb)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 scallions, white part only, thinly sliced
1 cup olive oil
6-8 chicken cutlets

Whisk together the basil, lemon juice, wine, mustard, salt, pepper, and scallions. Continue to whisk while adding the oil in a slow, steady stream. Place marinade in a large zip top bag and add the chicken cutlets. Seal the bag and place it in a bowl (in case the bag leaks) and refrigerate
for at least 3 hours or overnight. Grill over hot coals until cooked through and serve.

Oven-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
2 pounds small red potatoes, cut in half or quartered if larger
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped

Place the potatoes in a bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the rosemary on top and stir to combine. Transfer potatoes to an oiled or foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees F until tender and browned, about 40 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Herbed Zucchini
3 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced thickly
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 T each olive oil and butter
salt
pepper
2 thyme springs, or substitute oregano or basil
A handful of parsley, finely chopped

Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add zucchini and thyme sprigs, season with salt and pepper and saute until desired tenderness is achieved, about 10 minutes. Add parsley and serve.

My CSA and Dill Pickles

Aaaaah...Summer's Bounty. This is my fourth year as a member of Kretschmann Farm CSA. Don and Becky Kretschmann have an all-organic farm just minutes from our home here north of Pittsburgh. Not only do they grow fabulous organic produce, but they have to be some of the nicest folks you'd ever meet.

Every Friday afternoon from June through November, I take a drive out to the farm. In just minutes I can be out of suburban Pittsburgh and rolling past cows and corn fields. I pull up past their house and down around the back of the barn where crates of veggies are waiting to be picked up and a kitten or two are waiting to greet you. Business as usual is going on all around - Becky is mowing the grass, Don is busy fixing a drip line or driving the tractor, and their helpers are washing dirt off the lettuce or tending to seedlings in the greenhouse.

Don writes a weekly newsletter and sends it via email to his subscribers. Through these newsletters you'll find the happenings on the farm that week, help in identifying some produce, and, of course, recipes. This week we found out that this is the year of the cucumber... that is a year that his crop produced a surplus of cucumbers.  So the Kretschmanns came through with the cucumbers AND a recipe for dill pickles in this week's newsletter. Who knew making pickles was so easy?  And they are delicious!




Fresh Dill Pickle Spears
from Don and Becky Kretschmann


1. Slice one or two cucumbers into spears and place in a glass quart jar with a few sprigs of fresh dill.
2. Bring to a boil 1/8 cup salt, 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 cups of water and a sliced clove or two of garlic in a small saucepan.
3. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight. (To keep the jar from breaking, run hot tap water over the outside of the jar just before filling with hot liquid.)

Tabbouleh

I found this recipe for tabbouleh when my daughter, in 5th grade at the time, brought home the Children's Quick and Easy Cookbook by Angela Wilkes, which she found at her school library. When I looked through it, I was pleasantly surprised to find recipes other than chicken fingers and pizza. Actually, there were very healthy-looking recipes within a variety of international cuisines using all fresh ingredients. The book was very well laid out with lots of great pictures of every step in the recipe.

Although she and her friend only wanted to try making the goodies in the dessert section (which turned out fantastic if I remember), I was drawn to the recipes such as tabbouleh, falafel, chicken curry, thai kebobs, and chicken chow mein- things I had never tried before. The tabbouleh is delicious and is a great use for the tomatoes and cucumbers from the farmer's market and my bumper crop of parsley and mint. It makes a great, healthy, summer side dish or potluck salad since you serve it cold or at room temperature and it's not too heavy.

Tabbouleh
from Children's Quick and Easy Cookbook by Angela Wilkes

1 cup bulgur
1/2 cucumber
3 seeded, diced, tomatoes
4 scallion
a handful of pitted black olives, optional
1 bunch parsley
small handful of mint leaves
3 T olive oil
3 T lemon juice
salt and pepper


1. Put the bulgur in a bowl, cover it with boiling water, and let soak for 20 minutes until the grains soften.

2. Finely chop the cucumber. Trim the scallions and slice them finely. Rinse, dry, and finely chop the parsley and mint.
3. Drain the bulgur in a sieve over a bowl. Use your hands to squeeze out as much extra water as you can.

4. Put all ingredients in a bowl. Mix together and season with salt and pepper.