EGGstra Special Ingredient

Did I mention Jen has chickens?   ~ ~ ~ She does indeed!  Her and hubby Ross also have rabbits, a cow named Buddy and goats! 

~ Cheryl

The Curled Sweet Potato

Arthur has long since lost any appreciation for French fries, no thanks to my love of them. His theory of potatoes is that they better come mashed or baked with lots of butter. 

You may remember that the first item Kevin bought me was a rolling pin, well in keeping with that tradition, some time pre 2000, we went to the Powers Crossroads Craft Show in Newnan, Georgia. There at one of the booths we were totally taken in by this handmade vegetable-curling tool. The sheer simplicity of it got us right off the bat then it being made of wood only fascinated us more. All this before the samples was passed around!

So, for twenty some dollars Kevin bought one for our humble kitchen.

Now, Kevin loves my homemade french-fries and I don’t make them often because they’re double duty. First I blanch then re-fry for crispness. So when he came asking for Sweet Potato fries I put him off. Firstly because I figured Arthur wouldn’t be a fan and secondly because of their density making them tricky to slice.

But, Ah-Ha!

I pulled my trusty vegetable-curler off the wall and had at it.

As the slender rings began bubbling way in the pan (my beloved cast iron Dutch oven) I casually mentioned to Arthur that Sweet Potato fries are tastier than French fries. Sweeter.

About this time, Kevin came into the kitchen and as I was looking in the fridge for something he took over!

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that because of lovely denseness of this orange root we were able to bypass the blanching and get delicate crispiness from an elongated cooking time.

Once they made the plate Arthur was on them.

And as we al know about French fries, you can never eat just one and they are gone before you know it. That goes double for Curled Sweet Potatoes.!

~ Cheryl

Spiral Ham & Potato Water

Spiral hams are no longer only for Christmas in our home. Every day is a good day to celebrate life, or thanksgiving or sharing. So this year I picked up an extra ham when they were on sale during the holidays.

I’d been craving a good ham sandwich so I defrosted that 10 pound ham holding out in the freezer. I love the fact that it was all ready pre cooked.

After de-fatting and de-boning it, I divided the lovely slices up for later.

The trimmed fat and left over got tossed into the crock-pot, covered with water and generously sprinkled with caraway seeds. From there it spent 8 to 10 hours on low.

Kathy Jones, a good friend of mine that does a 4 mile power walk with me and a couple of other girls 3 times a week had been telling me about a dish she makes for her husband. She calls it Ham Dumplings though she actually makes homemade noodle for it.

So I lugged the gallon of ham stock now sitting in my fridge, skimmed the fat off the top and filled my Dutch Oven 2/3 full with it.

I’ve been out of onions for a while (the grocery store is 30 miles away and that trek is reserved for a full list) so I crossed my fingers, depending on the stock alone for flavor.

Kathy’s recipe called for potatoes and since I have a hard time adding two starches to a dish I decided against them.

However once I got the egg noodles, mixed frozen veggies, more caraway, leftover green beans and ham chunks all swimming around together I realized just how strong the stock had been; too salty for my taste. I also wanted a creamier texture. I popped in a can of cream of mushroom soup, and though it added a nice texture it wasn’t enough.

So, I gave in to the potatoes.

I diced up enough russets to fill my square pan and did the dishes.

Once the cubes were al dente’ I tossed them in, but no, the brown liquid remained overwhelmed with salt and it didn’t give me that creaminess I had hoped for.

So! I dumped in the potato water! That was a big Ah Ha for me!

Perfecto!

I’ve made a mental note for he next time I make mashed potatoes to freeze the potato water. I already save the pinto bean juice when I make chili, so what’s one more container in the freezer? It always tickles me when I perk up a recipe or can save a potential cooking disaster with a pre-made frozen concoction!

~Cheryl

Master Popper

Even before the microwave died, my son Arthur (& husband Kevin) alternated their evening routine popcorn consumption between microwaveable and old fashioned

When I was a kid in the wake of Jiffy Pop & Orvil Redenbacher we had the square pan. Simple stainless steel with a copper bottom, it was and is the best popper around. 

Before they was supersizing, we had those large brown grocery bags, a salt shaker and a good rainy afternoon movie on the couch.  Now it’s a huge stainless steel bowl and Netflix.

With my mother’s (Grammy’s) tried and true splash of oil on the bottom of the pan and a ¼  cup corn kernels, Arthur has taken my place at the Master Popper.

Cheers!

~ Cheryl

Kick In The Pants French Dip

Just beyond magic school bus days…… we moved into an old Mill House (which needed a lot of repair) about 10 miles from the marina.  That same month; February I began working in retail as an Optical Technician. There I would meet a woman fully steeped in a Southern Lifestyle.  Perhaps it was one she designed herself, but working with Paula was a kick in the pants. I don’t believe she went to college but she belonged to what she called a working sorority, doing charity work and benefits around the area.  This recipe comes from the first Beta Sigma Phi cookbook that she gave to me.

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One of those recipes was for a Crock-pot French dip, and I just happened to be thinking about it again today……….made it a few weeks ago …………

This is one of those very tweekable recipes.  The basics are:

3 – 4 pound roast

1 c soy sauce (or 1/2 c soy and 1/2 c water) (or I like to use Braggs Mineral broth and a combo of water and soy sauce)

2 – 4 peppercorns  

1 t rosemary (I use a few fresh sprigs from the garden)

1 t thyme

1 bay leaf

1 T garlic powder  (I also add a few fresh garlic cloves)

8 hours @ low setting.

Serve on your choice of bread/rolls with Mozzarella or Swiss cheese.

Perfect perfect perfect..  Even inexpensive beef cuts work with this, and most recently I made it with Pork Butt (picnic ham or pork shoulder) and it turned out simply wonderful.    The au jus on either count is awesome.

Some variations I’ve used:

1/ lay roast on a bed of sliced onions and/or garlic gloves

2/ lay roast on bed of what ever left over veggies you have in fridge.  The last batch concoction included: cabbage, bell peppers, a few tomatoes, carrots, and thinly slice sweet potatoes

3/ fresh herbs instead or with dry ones. Today’s collection included 3 fresh sprigs of rosemary from the garden and what was left of my basil plants after last nights freeze, about 4 leaves.  Next time I think I will try adding some of my homemade pesto.

4/ add caraway seeds (!)

5/ few slice of fresh jalapeno peppers. I thought I’d picked them all before the frost, but discovered this morning that a few survived.  I scooped out the seeds and let the flesh rest in mild salt water for a minute or two. (Why?  Because my Mother told me one it will take the bite out of them.  So I do it.)   I’ve used dry jalapenos slices in the past with great results too.

~ Cheryl

As Stuffed As The Pizza Crust

Calzones are still on the menu for this week, but for tonight we had Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza ~ with Pepperoni & Sweet Italian Sausage toppings.

Arthur and I did a test run of breadsticks with cheese inside to determine timing and dough thickness.   Pizza, well, pretty much anything Italian is his current favorite, but Pizza tops the list.  And if I had his energy I’d be doing dishes now instead of blogging!  LOL 

Marina sauce is wonderful on the crust as well as the breadsticks, but I am partial to my Oil & Vinegar Italian dressing.  The way it soaks into the bread, oh my…it’s so good, and if I weren’t feeling so darn fat dumb and happy (As Jen would joyfully say!) I’d have another………….

~ Cheryl

Awesome Cabbage Soup

I get so excited when I try something spur of the moment an then can’t stop eating it! So, I just had to share this RIGHT NOW!

I’ve got some friends like me who hate dieting but like to cook.  They introduced me to the concept of Cabbage soup.  I say concept because you can add most any vegetable combination you like along with the cabbage.  The girls tossed out a few vegetable ideas and I went from there.

Since it is always time to clean out my fridge, this project fit today’s chores.  So below is just as I made it, seat of my pants.

Cabbage Soup

Saute till semi soft –

2 t - 1T oil (I used bacon fat, yum)

1 onion - chopped

6 cloves garlic - minced

2 ½ - 3 c cabbage – chopped (this includes a few outer leaves from some surviving heads in the garden)

½ c leftover cauliflower florets

3 baby carrots – chopped or slice (end of the bag)

Add –

1 quart crushed (canned) tomatoes

1 quart stock (whatever you have on hand – I only had left over juice from canned beans and corn from previous meals hanging out in the freezer – yes, I save everything!)

2 t caraway seeds

1 ½ pound cubed deer steak (I knew it would be tough and that I would remove it before serving. I used it for flavoring as I am out of beef bouillon)

1 – 2 t Soy sauce  (to taste)

1 – 3 t Braggs Liquid Aminos – All Purpose Seasoning (Mineral Broth) or Beef Bouillon (to taste)

½ - 1 t ground Black Pepper (to taste)

Bring to boil – simmer 1 hour

Top with grated cheese of choice

AWESOMENESS !  (to borrow the legendary words of Kung-Fu-Panda)

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I have read recipes that also include Kidney beans, Chickpeas (Garbanzo) and potatoes.  I think sweet potatoes would be a nice addition.  Get creative.  I can imagine much more cauliflower, more carrots, corn and maybe some bell peppers.

~ Cheryl