Minestrone

I made this really good Minestrone on Sunday!  It has a ton of fresh veggies and made enough for several dinners and lunches for the week.   As we head into the colder seasons, I plan to make a "one-pot" dish every weekend that we can enjoy on cold weekday nights without having to slave in a cold kitchen after work!

This recipe takes time.  Leave about 5 hours for the entire process.

Ingredients (serves 10-12):

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 lb. bacon or pancetta, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3-4 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large potato, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1-1/2 cups green beans, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
1 medium fennel bulb, chopped
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium green cabbage, shredded
6 cups of chopped kale, thick stems and ribs removed
35 oz. whole peeled Italian tomatoes, chopped, with their juice
5 cups beef stock
5 cups water
2 Tbs. dried oregano
1 T. dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
1-14.5 oz. can of white kidney beans, drained
1/2 lb. pasta

Here is what you do:

Pour 1/3 cup olive oil into a large stock pot or dutch oven

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add bacon, and cook until starting to crisp (about 5 minutes).

Add onion and cook until pale gold in color, about 10 minutes

Add carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occassionally

Add chopped potatoes, zucchini, fennel, and green beans.  Cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occassionally.

Add kale and cabbage.  It will not seem like they can fit in the pot - just stir and let them cook down and it should work out (i ended up leaving out about a cup of each because space was tight!)

When the kale and cabbage are limp and cooked down, add the cut up tomatoes with their juices

Then add the stock and water (I added 5 cups of stock and 3 of water to start, because there wasn't room for it all.  As it cooked down some I added more water)

Add dried basil and oregano and salt and pepper to taste. 

Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.   15 minutes before serving add beans and pasta.  Turn up heat and cook until pasta is cooked.

Serve with warm crusty french bread.

Enjoy!!

LIFE

Is so full! and so fast! A lot has happened since my last post.  Here is a brief rundown..

I ran a half marathon! It went great. I really loved the experience.  Here I am crossing the finish line in 1:52:15! 

And here is the hat Brandon came down wearing at 4:00 am that morning. He is so cute and so supportive! (I am super lucky! :))

 

 The animals feel neglected! They have not been blogged about in way too long.  Here are the babies.  SO CUTE!

Yesterday I ran 21 miles and I am nursing a sore knee and swollen ankle... it isn't fun but hopefully ice, rest, and advil will make it better in a couple days... one more month until the big day and it would be really not fun to get injured now! pray for me.

Today is football, relaxation, and I am making minestrone.  I will let you know how it comes out!

-- Anya

Wheat Loaves

This recipe comes from my Williams-Sonoma "BREAD" book.  I always flipped past it thinking it looked boring.  But then last weekend, I wanted to bake bread and didn't want to deal with a TON of rising time.  And I had all the ingredients.  So I went for it.  I am so glad I did!  It was incredibly satisfying and had amazing flavor, texture, density.  A keeper.

Here's how you make it.

You will need:

1 1/2 T active dry yeast
pinch brown sugar
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups tepid buttermilk (90 degrees F)
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup canola oil, plus extra for greasing
1 T salt
3 cups whole-wheat flour
3 1/2 - 4 cups bread flour, plus extra as needed

1.  Sprinkle yeast and brown sugar over water and stir to dissolve.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

2.  In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, oil, salt, and 2 cups of the whole-wheat flour.  Beat on medium-low speed until creamy, about 2 minute.  Beat in the yeast mixture and remaining whole-wheat flour and beat for 1 minute.

3.  Beat in the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the bowl sides. Switch to the dough hook.  Knead on low speed, adding bread flour 1 T at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth but slightly sticky when pressed, about 5 minutes.  This takes a bit of mess and some patience...

4.  Transfer dough to an oiled deep bowl and turn the dough once to coat it.  Cover loosly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

5.  Lightly grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and divide in half.  Pat each half into a long rectangle.  Fold short sides in like a letter, press to flatten.  Beginning at a narrow end, tightly roll up the dough into a thick log.  Roll back and forth with your palms until it is the length of the pan. Pinch the ends and the long seam to seal.  Place the loaf, seam side down, in a prepared pan, tucking ends under to make a neat, snug fit.  Repeat with other half of dough.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until 1 inch above the rim of each pan, about 1 hour.

6.  Bake at 350 degrees F until loaves are golden brown and pull away fromt eh pan sides, about 35-40 minutes.  Turn onto racks and let cool.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Country Biscuits

These are basically AMAZING.  Buttery, flaky, a little sweet, a little salty, a little crispy, very soft, wonderful alone, with honey, with gravy, with jam, with berries and whipped cream.  I think I am in love.  I don't have a picture... I get so caught up in eating them I forget to record what I am doing... sorry.  But here's how you make them. 

You need:

2 cups flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. sugar
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1 cup buttermilk

NOTE: you could substitute shortening for the butter if you wanted.  Or milk/cream for the buttermilk (if you do, omit the baking soda).  You can also omit the sugar... I like the sweetness but that is a personal preference.

Mix together the dry ingredients.  Then (this is a BRILLIANT tip that I got from a website) use a box grater to grate in the cold butter (i HAVE to try this for pie crust).  Work quickly.  Mix it in with your fingertips.  Add buttermilk and use your hands to mix it all together. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it down into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.  Fold in the short sides like you are folding a letter to put into an envelope.  Turn it 1/4 turn and pat it down again.  Repeat folding procedure.  Pat or roll out the dough to be 1/2 - 3/4" thick.  Cut into rounds and put on baking sheets. 

Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  Eat warm!

A rushed Sunday night post...

I have been wanting to blog all week... and then all weekend... and now it is almost 8 pm on Sunday night, an hour and a half before I need to go to bed to start another week by hitting the gym at 5 am and somehow this blog post hasn't yet happened!  How to work, garden, bake, cook, grocery shop, run 19 miles, spend time with your husband, clean, fold laundry, read the news, read a novel, talk to your parents, talk to your sister, go to a state fair, sleep (some) and blog all in one weekend?!?  I am working on this... I managed all of this over the weekend, so apologies if this blog post comes a little bit abbreviated...

First, one piece of big news in Voorheesville is Brandon got a jeep!  It is really awesome and much needed... and look he is so happy! :)

And here's what's been happening in the country kitchen since the last post...

I made three (yes... 3) types of bread... this is a lot! First, here is a chocolate coconut bread (sinful) and a basic "no knead" bread.  These are both from Jim Lahey... these are WONDERFUL... I left Brandon to do the actual baking and he survived it... although one kitchen towel appears to have tried to eat the rising bread... these things only happen to Brandon, I swear...

And here is a wheat loaf I made today... it is SOOO good... I am wondering why I have never made basic wheat bread before... It has stolen my heart! It is a different thing entirely than what you buy in loaves from the grocery store, dense but fluffy, soft, substantial and this recipe has honey and buttermilk in it... enough said!... with butter it is heavenly.  It will be great for Brandon's ham and cheese sandwiches... WITH... homemade pickles! (which we tried by the way this weekend and they came out great!)

I also had some fun with thai food this last week!  I made Shrimp Pad Thai last weekend, and summer rolls (no pics for the rolls unfortunately) and then last night I made Thai chicken and basil and a thai-inspired salad... all YUM!

Here is the pad thai... the picture is unfortunately blurry.. but the flavors were sharp and wonderful!  I used this recipe.

... and here is my "thai-inspired" salad... It has papaya, cucumbers, red pepper, cherry tomatoes (from the garden!), green onions, peanuts, shredded lettuce, jalepenos, some fish sauce, rice vinegar, sesame sauce, a touch of sugar.. very refreshing!

And here is the chicken basil... i used this recipe, more or less... Thai Chicken with Basil Stir Fry

I also made more fresh pesto with loads of basil from the garden, but this time I used a much lighter recipe which is one my dad uses... it has no cheese or butter, only basil (3 cups packed), walnuts (about 8 Tbs), olive oil (about 2-3 Tbs), garlic (3-4 cloves) and a bit of salt... it was wonderful with pasta tonight and a corn and tomato salad..

In other fun news, we have TONS of green tomatoes, and as of yesterday, finally some ripe cherry tomatoes!  I pickled some green tomatoes last weekend, and today, with inspiration from my trip to South Carolina, I made fried green tomatoes with a Remoulade sauce and some pickled jalepenos.  YUMMMM!  This was lunch...

Well that mostly does it for food!  In store for tomorrow is catfish tacos... and then pizza later in the week...   I know that there are recipes I have promised, and more here I want to post... but time is scarce! I am going to make a real effort to get some up this week...

Phew... well... to leave you, here are some pictures I took of the animals we saw today at the state fair!  Pretty cool :-)

Goats!!

until next time...
-- Anya

What I have made and am making

Well it has been a busy week!  With 4:45 a.m. mornings at the gym, running club, softball with coworkers, it has been hard to find time to blog!  and after a 17 mile run last Saturday (which was REALLY hard), I took a day off from cooking and it was a great day... we went by some tag sales and I scored some plates, a beautiful old white tablecloth with lace work, a mini muffin tin, and some heart shaped bakeware... fun!  Then we went to my favorite consignment store where I got a cake cutter (Sara if you are reading - i had you in mind!) and some really nice and very affordable work clothes.  Score again.  Then it was batman and yes, my favorite food, popcorn :)

So Sunday I woke up with dreams of baked goods swirling in my head... it was like withdrawal... images of muffins roused me from sleep at the late hour (for me) of 7:30...  I spent the better part of the day in the kitchen... among other things, I made...

blueberry muffins with crumble topping...  these were really good... I took a bunch to work because I had to get them out of the house!  (oh.. and then i had this dream... this IS TOO FUNNY... that someone was attempting to destroy my blueberry muffins... yes, a muffin monster... but in the dream this was like, not funny, but very upsetting... I must get mental help!)

... and pickles!!! With cucumbers from the garden. This was so fun and so easy!

For the brine, I used white vinegar, water, salt, a little sugar, hot pepper flakes, coriander, fresh dill sprigs, whole peeled garlic... I think that's it... they have to sit in the fridge for another week and then I get to eat them! Can't wait to see how they turn out!

... a free form peach tart with local white and yellow peaches.... YUM... 

This is sooo simple to make!  It is just a simple tart crust (I will post the recipe), and the filling is just sliced peaches (1.5 lbs),  2 Tbs. sugar and a pinch of salt.  I cooked it at 425 for about 40-45 minutes on a baking sheet.  Perfect with a scope of vanilla ice cream...

So this morning I ran 15 miles...  and it felt great! (and I maybe burned off some of those blueberry muffins and peach tart!)  I think I am getting closer to being ready to tackle the real thing... still almost 2 months away but I am running a half marathon in 2 weeks, just to get a race under my belt (no one in my running group can believe I've never run a single race and am doing a full marathon!). 

Anyways, I have a full schedule of cooking for the weekend.  Tonight I am making shrimp summer rolls and chicken pad thai... I found an AMAZING Asian grocery store nearby and have pledged to make more Asian food.  I also got a bamboo steamer which I am totally pumped to use...

Tomorrow is fried green tomatoes with some of the MANY giant green tomatoes growing on my COLOSSAL tomato plants.  They are huge!  Followed by shrimp tacos... I also picked up some beautiful heirloom tomatoes at the newly opened Trader Joe's here (about which I am very happy) that I must work into the menu somehow...  I will also be baking bread... and probably something sweet!

OH, I also have been on a mission to find the perfect flaky biscuit... and I think I may have found it, or come really close!  I will need to post that recipe.. although I forgot to take pictures (travesty!)...

OK, so there is much food blogging to come... even if it takes me a while to get it up here!  I hope everyone is enjoying the days of summer... even as the days start to get shorter...

until next time...

-- Anya