stock & such

Whenever Blake comes into town, it's virtually guaranteed that we're going to cook together. For this particular visit, we made ourselves dinner (sweet potato gratin) and cooked up some appetizers for tailgating down in Tuscaloosa for the Mississippi State game (stuffed mushrooms and pinwheels). I've posted about pinwheels before, so I'll just include the gratin and mushrooms.

To top it all off, I used all my leftover vegetable remnants to attempt my first homemade vegetable stock. It was delicious, and I've already used it in my cumin squash soup (which I detailed two posts ago), and a carrot soup I made for a Hanukkah potluck last night.



Vegetable Stock:
(quantities don't really matter -- use whatever you have leftover. Including stems, peels, etc. because you're going to strain everything once it has cooked)

mushrooms
radishes
thyme
green onions
mustard greens
onion
garlic
carrots
salt
pepper

Add everything into a large stock pot with some olive oil and let saute 15 minutes or so before filling the pot at least halfway with water. Let simmer for at least 2 hours. (Just do this at a time when you know you'll be home a while and check on it periodically). Strain with a sieve several times and you're done.



For the gratin:

3-4 medium sweet potatoes
parmesan
1-2 cups heavy cream
salt
pepper
nutmeg
hot sauce
1/2 onion
garlic
2 tbsp butter

Peel and mandolin the sweet potatoes (for gratins I think the uniformity of a mandolin is really appealing. On some things it isn't necessary, but in this case it's really ideal for even cooking and appearance). Saute the onions and garlic in butter, and add to a baking dish on bottom, afterward arranging the sliced sweet potatoes on top. Season with nutmeg, hot sauce (of course I use this on everything -- but seriously I think it's a nice contrast to how sweet the potatoes can be) salt and pepper, then add the heavy cream. I didn't include an exact measure because I usually just pour it straight from the container into the baking dish until it's at least halfway up the side.

Top with parmesan and back at 350 for 45 minutes. Everyone loves gratins.

Stuffed mushrooms:
1 package of baby portabellos
1 red onion
2-3 cloves garlic
olive oil
breadcrumbs
parmesan

The hardest part about these is cleaning and prepping the mushrooms. I like to use a small spoon, and patience. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and scoop out some of the innards, being careful not to break the mushroom. The amount you choose to remove is up to you. If you wanted to add some additional veggies to the filling you could remove almost all of the inner mushroom, however if you leave the filling as-is, I wouldn't scrape them too cleanly as it is quite rich.

Basically just saute the onions and garlic, season them with salt and pepper, and mix with breadcrumbs and parmesan. Stuff and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. These are great at room temp, too.

local food forays

There has been a dramatic uptick in my consumption of local produce lately due to a friendship I've developed with a Grow Alabama employee. Basically, I get a share of his weekly produce box in exchange for something that I cook using the ingredients from the box. Grow Alabama is a great program, and we need more like it, all over the state. Support it if you can! (I know, I can't really afford the boxes either -- but we do need more produce being grown/purchased locally in Alabama. It helps our state's economy, and its people, as well as the environment). On to the food.


It was Danielle's birthday, and I was itching to make Thanksgiving things anyway. And, as I've mentioned in a previous post, I love brunch.

Menu:
Tomato Pie (this recipe is in a previous post)
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Cumin Squash Soup
Creamed Mustard Greens
Carrot Souffle (left over from my aunt, so I'm not including this recipe)
Frittata (this recipe is in a previous post)
Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Sauce

I'll try to describe everything in the order in which I cooked it, because I feel like it's somewhat important that some things be cooked later so they'll stay warmer.

The first things I prepped were the squash and the sweet potatoes. For the soup, you'll need two large squash (it will serve at least 6 as a first course), and for the candied sweet potatoes you'll need about 5 medium sweet potatoes.

Candied Sweet Potatoes:
Cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
3 tbsp honey
5 medium sweet potatoes

Slice the sweet potatoes and lay them out on a sheet pan. Sprinkle/drizzle all the ingredients on top and toss together. Cook at 425 for probably 45 minutes, tossing occasionally. Use aluminum foil! The honey gets sticky. I had these in the top rack of my oven while the souffle and the tomato pie were on the bottom.

Before assembling the pie, however, I started the squash soup.

Cumin Squash Soup:

Butternut squash
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
salt
pepper
hot sauce
vegetable stock
1/3 stick butter

Cook the onions, garlic, and squash (cubed) in the butter for about ten minutes. Add enough vegetable stock to cover all the vegetables (I used probably two to three cups), then add your spices/herbs and hot sauce. Bring to a boil then cover and let simmer for at least half an hour. (The important thing is to make sure your squash is tender). Before serving, use an immersion blender until you reach your desired texture. I left mine relatively chunky.

Green Bean Casserole

about 3/4 pound fresh green beans
6-7 small mushrooms
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2-3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
salt
pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
red pepper flakes
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1-2 tbsp flour
1/2 c. panko
1/3 c. parmesan

Cook onions, garlic, mushrooms, and beans in olive oil and butter 5-10 minutes (Don't overdo it -- you still want the green beans to be a bit crisp, as they'll cook more in the oven). Add flour and make a roux, then add the cream after a minute or so. Add the herbs and spices after that, and let cook about 5 minutes before transferring to a baking dish. Top with parmesan and panko and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until brown on top.

Creamed Mustard Greens:

1 large bunch mustard greens
1/2 red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp parsley
1/4 c. brown sugar
salt
pepper
1/3 c. water
1/3 c. heavy cream
3 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. parmesan

I got these mustard greens in the produce box, and had never cooked them before. Full disclosure: they were almost unpleasantly bitter. If I were you, I'd check out my creamed collards post, or just make this recipe substituting the mustard greens for something slightly less bitter. That being said, if you add enough cream, butter, and cheese to something, it'll be good. I still found these to be interesting, and Miguel and Shundee enjoyed them (or claimed to).

Saute the onions and garlic in the butter and add the greens once they're translucent. Add the water, brown sugar, and spices, and let them cook for at least 20-25 minutes, until almost all the water is absorbed, at which point you can reduce the heat and add the cream and cheese. Season to taste, and add more cream and cheese if you find them to be too bitter, haha.

And last but not least: Cranberry sauce. Miguel actually made this, but I was trying to pay attention and take note of his ingredients:

3 cups cranberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar

Basically, you just bring the water and sugar to a boil and add the cranberries. Let simmer until about 1/2 the cranberries have popped. The amount you let pop depends on the level of tartness you desire. The more that pop, the sweeter it will be. Transfer the sauce to another container and store it in the fridge until it has time to get cold, then it's ready to serve.


(halfway through the feast)

And so concludes my Thanksgiving post. I served it with these little cheesecakes leftover from my grandma's, and it was amazing. I think I'm still full, though it was a full 24 hours ago.

the shame

In English, the Greek expression tis drro-pees translates to "the shame," and describes the feeling one has when taking the last slice of pizza from a pie, or the last of anything from any meal with a group. In the title of this post, however, I am referring not to this type of shame, but rather the shame I feel when informing you that my raw food diet lasted less than 48 hours.

Truly, it is challenging to stop cooking when you are a lover of food.

That being said, pride alone has prompted me to include the recipe experiments that I did attempt during my raw dieting. The first being slaw, and the second being cabbage wraps.

I prefer a vinegar-based slaw to one with mayonnaise the majority of the time, most likely because my granny always served the former. This recipe was adapted from her; the only change I made was to add the carrots and black pepper.

Vinegar Slaw:
1 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
large pinch of salt
lots of cracked black pepper
1/2 head cabbage
2 carrots

I used a box grater on the carrots, and just sliced the cabbage relatively thinly. Obviously, the amounts can vary as heads of cabbage can vary greatly. Just give the mix a taste, and adjust it to your preference. I like mine with a lot of tang, so I typically use a little less sugar. Let it refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving.

--

I used this slaw, along with some salsa that I whipped up (I forgot to record my recipe, but it was relatively simple. Basically just tomatoes, cilantro, lime, onion, hot sauce, salt, & pepper), to make cabbage wraps with the remaining 1/2 head of cabbage.

Cabbage wraps:

Slaw
Salsa
Spinach
Sprouts
Avocado
Cabbage (not sliced, just peeled away from the head in whole pieces so they can be used like a tortilla)

This is all I used, but you could really add any green/accoutrement. Make sure you sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper before rolling them up, too.




And that about does it for my healthy post. To follow is a Thanksgiving brunch extravaganza sure to make up for the lack of calories displayed here.