braised white beans with leeks

It was almost 90 degrees here today.  I am so ready for fall.  One way I can tell that is I want more heavy dishes.  My stomach settles best with vegetables and fishes but a bowl of beans sounds wonderful.  I came across a recipe of braised white beans with leeks that sounded wonderful.  I bought some leeks and brought them home.  Then to come find out I did not have all the ingredients!  I improvised and everyone really liked it.  Small Mister could not be fed fast enough.  The Tall Short Person liked the beans a lot.  I always feel that is an accomplishment when she likes something new.  My Beloved ate two bowls.  There is enough for another day as well.  I like this because it means I will not have to cook.  My Beloved will reheat.

braised white beans with leeks

Note:  This is better if you can start it the day before or the morning before you will eat it.

1 pound cannelli beans

2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

2 leeks, white only, well washed, sliced fine

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons thyme

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder

2 teaspoons smoke sweet paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 plus cups grated cheese.  I used a mixture. 

Rinse and soak the beans overnight or at least eight hours.  Drain.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit

In an ovenproof dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the leeks.  Let start to become brown.  Add the garlic.  Let brown slightly.  Add all the other ingredients except the cheese.  Cover and let bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until the beans are soft.  

At this point, you can let the beans cool and reheat later.  Or just go on.

Raise the temperature of the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.  Take the cover off the beans. Sprinkle with the cheese.  I used a mixture and one was goat.  It went very well with these flavors.  Let bake for another 5 minutes.

Serve.  This would be really good with bread but we ate it with corn chips.  Very good that way too.

happy halloween!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day.  My stomach still hates me.  All the sugar around just makes it worse so I am trying to not eat too much.  But I can eat as many brussel sprouts as I want to!  My current favorite way to eat brussel sprouts is roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  They actually turn sweet in twenty minutes.  I guess you could call them candy then but my Tall Short Person would say not!  She is unwilling to try them even though Small Mister likes them.  The cooks boil them at her work.  That just does not sound good to me!

roasted brussel sprouts

as many brussel sprouts as you wish to eat, go for the small ones

a couple tablespoons of olive oil

salt

pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Pour the olive oil on a pan.  I have a cast iron pizza pan I really like.  Cut the stems off the brussel sprouts.  Peel off the outside leaves.  Cut into quarters.  Put on the pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  

Put in the oven.  Stir at the 10 minute mark.  They should be nice and golden at 20 minutes.

These are so good I did not get a picture of them after roasting.  But we were also hungry.  I served these with other roasted vegetables and baked salmon.  So far, my stomach is very happy with me.  I am not sure the piece of fresh bread I am about to have will settle, but I hope so.

camping in the great smoky mountains

Last week, even being sick still, my Beloved and I packed up our "new" subarbuan.  We had been planning on going to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair all year and decided we could do this.  Yes, we are a bit crazy.  Food is still not settling, even today.  Both my Beloved and my head still hurts but we made it!  I could post the pictures from last year because the colors were just as glorious.  

Taking as many pictures of the leaves did not happen because I was feeling badly but I think all the smiles from the colors helped.  And the smells!  I wish I could post how everything smelled.  The people we met at the campground and at the fair were awfully nice.  I am going to show off what I got tomorrow.  I am very excited!

We actually car camped for the first time in years.  We both realized that we had missed it, only using a trailer in the last five years or so.  There will probably be more of this in the future.  But without a kitchen, food was simpler but not too much.  We had two dinner salads on consecutive nights.  Proteins and vegetables are really working best on my stomach.  

This salad was easy over the fire and tasty.  I would use sweet vinaigrette on it but if you do not, it is still tasty or use something that you would like.

mexicanish meat salad

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, peeled and chopped

3/4 pound beef, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 jar salsa, I used one with peach and mangos in it

half a head of romaine

In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil.  Add the onions and let brown.  Add the meat and let brown.  Add the salsa and let heat through.  You may wish to heat it a bit until some of the liquid cooks offs.

Put the greens on two plates.  Pour the meat mixture over.  Dress with a vinaigrette or a dressing of your choice.

Easy and simple for car camping.  Easy on my unsettled stomach.  It is actually what I should have made for dinner tonight!  Dinner did not settle at all!

molasses rye bread

My hands have been in bread dough a lot lately.  I find it helps with the frustration level of work and also not being at our land.  I make my standby a lot but there are times I experiment or get asked to try something.

My Beloved asked me to make a "real" rye bread.  He likes Reuben sandwiches and recently tried a pastrami on sourdough rye.  When the sandwich came out, his bread looked like a light whole wheat loaf.  It was not what he was expecting.  He was expecting dark and heavy.  This is where this experiment came from.  I adapted a recipe i saw on Lucullian delights.  It was the Bread Baking Babes challenge one month so I figured I would give it a try.  Of course, changing as I go.

I am not a real fan of rye bed but I would have to say this was very good.  Sourdough.  Lots of rye.  I wanted 100% rye but I ran out of rye flour and did not wish to go to the store.  

molasses rye bread

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

30 ounces rye flour

1 to 2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt.

The night before, mix the starter with 3/4 cup water and 1 cup rye flour in a large bowl.  Let sit over night or about eight hours.

The next morning (or whenever), take out a couple tablespoons of starter for next time.  Mix in the sugar, molasses, 1 1/4 cup water, ginger, and two cups rye flour.  Let sit covered for two ours or until very bubbly and puffy.

Mix in the salt, the rest of the rye flour, and any extra white to make a soft dough.  Turn out on a counter and knead until smooth and elastic.  Rye is a low gluten flour so this might take awhile dependent on how long you let the gluten develop in the first stage.

When smooth, cover and let rise until double.  Punch down and let rise again.

Shape into a free form loaf and put on a silpat or parchment covered baking sheet.  Or you can put it into buttered loaf pans.  Let rise for 45 minutes.

Slash the top of the bread in an x fashion.

Bake for 1 hour in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven.  This will give a soft crust.  For a more artisan crust, raise the baking temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and let bake 40 minutes.

This time I did the artisan crust.  Next time, we are going for the soft crust.

It was lovely, just out of the oven, with butter.  My Beloved was quite pleased.  This was what he was thinking.  Though next time, I am going to try to have all rye.  Maybe he will even get that pastrami on rye.

roasted duck and potatoes

On Saturday, we picked up a duck at the farmer's market.  I had a recipe I wanted to try and I wanted easy.  I find roasting a bird or a piece of meat makes a meal easy.  Then there is that leftover bit.  The carcass makes soup.  Lots of soup.  Soup for when we feel bad or wish to have an easy dinner or maybe a lunch at the skate park.  Easy.

But for a Saturday dinner, easy. It cooks with the potatoes.  Add a salad.  You are done.

roasted duck and potatoes

Note:  The ideas for this were from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries but pantry did not have what his had so I adpated it to what was in my cupboards.  Please do the same.

1 duck, muscovy is the breed of choice, about 4 to 5 pounds

2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into finger size pieces

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into finger size pieces

5 ounces of good flavored bacon, cut into small pieces

salt and pepper

one glass of sweet port

a couple tablespoons of millet flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large heavy cast iron pot, heat the olive oil over a low heat.  Add the bacon and let cook until transclucent.

Wash the duck.  Pat dry.

To the bacon, add the potatoes.

Put the duck on top of the potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 1 to 1/2 hours.  Muscovys have less fat so a smaller bird will take less time.  You do not wish to dry out the bird.

When the duck is golden and there is not blood in the juices, remove the duck.  If it is not golden enough, raise the temperature of the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Put the duck back in for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin.

Remove the duck and potatoes from the pan.  To the pan, add the port and let boil.  Sprinkle in the millet flour and cook until the juices are thick.

Serve the duck with the potatoes and gravy.

Easy, easy.  Then make soup!