Posts from the ‘Food’ category

Saturday morning

Oh, Bear!!! Why so glum??

Just in from the morning perimeter patrol/out and about…on a Saturday morning with a light snow falling…

The last several weeks, I’ve opened the bedroom to Bear during the day as Bob has elected to stay in ‘his (!!!)’ front room. From the bed, Bear can survey most of the woods from a spot he finds most comfortable.

Bob’s front room has the comfy daybed complete with comforter and several fleece blankies, the ‘craft desk’ which has food, water and yet another fleece blankie AND in a private corner: a most commodius litter box. For some time, Bob has deemed this room as fit for HIM.

But….in the perverse nature of cats…Bob has cottoned on to the fact that Bear loves the bedroom during the day.

For the first time in some weeks, Bob decided he would have his morning nap on the bed.

Hence, Bear’s pout. I wish I could have recorded the heavy sigh Bear emitted when he saw the bedroom was closed to him and Bob was on the bed.

Life can be tough here at the “casa” Summers…

Meanwhile, in the Saturday morning kitchen…

A Montana-Mex enchilada cook-a-thon commences.

Pictured above is 10 cups of lucious, rich chicken broth from 2 roast chickens. It is the prelude to both green and red chile gravy which hopefully will grace a number of enchilada dishes…some for now, some for my neighbors (the neighbors with THE TRACTOR!!!) and some for both of our freezers.

Hoo-rah!!!

“WHAT???”

Sunday

A bit of snow.

Some time with Bob and a book.

Icicles…dripping.

A walk with Bear.

Coconut almond chocolate biscotti…and a rolled out pizza crust.

A new venture…pizza on the grill! (Emile Henry pizza stone)

Supper.

On Sunday.

Gettin’ fresh

The more I make from scratch, the more I make from scratch… Bear’s dog biscuits, a fresh batch of ginger syrup and oh, boy! – I am enjoying the citrus this season!

While I typically throw an orange or lemon into the Vita-mix with other stuff for a smoothie, with this year’s variety of wonderful citrus…I let it stand alone in a mixed citrus soda. My current favorite blend is meyer lemon, wild lime, clementine and blood orange sweetened with a bit of rosemary infused simple syrup and topped with my own well water, carbonated by me.

Delicious and pretty and fresh :) !

Marinara, et. al.

It has gotten seriously ugly of late. The temperature has been above freezing for several days and it has been raining. It is a damp, slushy, drippy, icy mess! I guess the good news is that it is supposed to stay warm for the foreseeable future so we should be back to bare ground in a few days and ready to give Winter a fresh restart.

Meanwhile, something warm and comforting food-wise seemed like a good idea.

Last Winter, I started making a marinara from roasted veggies. I toss tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots…usually also broccoli – in a baking dish…spritz with olive oil, add salt and pepper and slowly roast everything in a low oven (275). When everything is tender, I add the veggies and a can of tomatoes with their juice to my Vita-mix and puree the lot! I simmer the result with oregano, sweet basil, garlic…adjust seasoning to taste.

The result is beautiful and delicious. I use it on pasta, with meatballs, for pizza sauce and for soup. This jar is only half the sauce made.

The rest, I freeze flat in Zip-loc bags…an idea I saw on Karin’s blog: Paper Route Designs.
Karin is the designer of the jar labels I use and love! Freezing sauces and broths flat allows you to break off just a little as needed.

I need only a small chunk of sauce for a single-serving pizza, pasta or bowl of tomato soup.

Soup, it was on this dreary day! A chunk of marinara, some vegetable broth, some cannelini beans – all in the Vita-mix and the result is a faux-cream* of tomato soup. I doctored it a little further with some chopped kale, pumpernickle croutons and a bit of parmesan. Perfect!

Bob says to save some for him, he’s on his way in!

*I’ve used pureed white beans: cannelini, navy and even garbanzo – to make brothy soups creamy. They do not taste “bean-y” to me but you get the added benefit of protein, fiber and other nutrients from the beans.

Tortillas v2.0 with a side of bacon

For years…up until several months ago, I have been making bacon in the micowave between sheets of paper towell. But after my dive into the benefits of fresh lard and then an accidental finding of a recipe for “bacon fat tortillas”…

Bacon is now fried in a cast iron skillet and the rendered fat, aka bacon grease is saved!

The entire tortilla recipe has evolved as well. Although Tortillas v1.0 were very good, there was a bit of an odd taste and they were a little puffier/heavier than I wanted.

The new recipe – which I make into 6-8 tortillas: (NO baking powder!!)

160 grams all purpose flour (Wheat Montana White) approx 1 cups
50 grams white whole wheat flour (King Arthur White whole wheat) approx 1/2 cup
3 T bacon fat, fresh lard or other fat…canola oil for example
1/2 (scant) tsp sea salt
1/2 cup very hot water

Mix all, knead lightly. Let rest for 20 minutes. Divide into 6 or 8 balls. Flatten and cook in dry cast iron comal or skillet.

The other improvement is the find of a pastry cloth and rolling pin cover…JUST like my Mama has! She has had her cloth and cover for probably 50 years – I never knew anything else to make pie crusts on. But I could never find one until several weeks ago…on Amazon. Mahhvelous!!!

Beautiful, light and pliable tortillas.

Meanwhile, my faithful companions lent their moral support…

…from the comfort of their beds.

Happy, happy start to 2012

Bear and I…not sure about Bob…are very, very happy to be starting 2012 together. I took this photo on 12/29, approximately 24 hours after Bear’s return. A timer photo…Bear and I are in motion, but still…it is all of us, together!

Rosemary simple syrup…a new mixer for me, recipe courtesy of 101cookbooks.com, rosemary sent home with me from my folks herb garden. I’ve been mixing a wee bit in with the Yellow Tail bubbly I’ve been sipping Christmas and New Year’s. A change of pace. It smells like Christmas – a bit piney. Refreshing. Perfect for this year’s holiday.

Best wishes to all for a happy, peaceful, love-filled 2012 from Bob, Bear and me!