If you have loved ones with celiac disease or gluten intolerant, you know how daily meals can become a difficult task. Although increasingly gluten free snakes are available, the selection is limited and the price is high. This prompted me to try to make something myself. The crackers I made with masa meal (corn meal treated with lime for making Mexican food, available in most supermarkets)turn out to be a success. Here is my rough draft recipe (I will post refined recipe later): Rosemary Sesame Squares (Gluten Free Crackers):
3 C. masa meal+more;
1 stick of butter;
1/2 C. vegetable oil;
1 large cube of chicken bullion, about 1 teaspoon;
1/4 C. corn starch;
1 large eggs;
Garlic salt to taste;
Sprinkle of crushed rosemary;
Sesame seeds.
Mix all ingredients together, add additional masa meal as needed until it forms a nice pliable dough that can hold its shape. Roll dough out into thin sheet on a baking sheet, cover the surface with sesame seeds, press down with rolling pin. Cut the sheet with pizza cutter into 1-1/2" squares or other shapes. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F until done, approximately 20 minutes.
Note: The chicken bullion cubes contain salt, so taste and adjust the final salt level after the dough is mixed.
Pesto made in the summer can add big flavor in the winter meal. There are different versions of pesto, just follow a loose recipe, don't worry about it if you have to substitute one ingredient for another. To make pesto, you need: herbs+nuts+garlic+olive oil. Pesto recipes also call for Parmesan cheese, I leave it out if I am going to freeze it for later use. You can always add fresh grated Parmesan cheese when you use it.
Herbs: Basil and/or parsley; Nut: Pine nuts or almonds or walnuts, or combo; Garlic: for every 4 C. fresh herbs add 2 large cloves of garlic;
Olive oil and salt.
Process herbs and garlic in the food processor, slowly drizzle in olive oil until the pesto reaches a consistency of a thick paste. Add salt to taste. Fill pesto in plastic containers and freeze.
Pasta made with frozen pesto and butter steamed mussels:
Ingredients: Spaghetti, crushed garlic, hot pepper flakes, olive oil, butter steamed mussels, white wine, salt and pepper to taste.
Cook pasta until al dente, set aside. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a frying pan, add crushed garlic, cook for 30 seconds, add mussels and wine. Bring to a boil, add cooked spaghetti. Stir to coat. Add salt, pepper and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
(Quick note: Add pasta cooking water if needed.)
My only favorable experience of dill was dill pickle. That changed last summer. Trying to expand my taste buds and learn to appreciate dill more, I grew a patch of dills. One recipe in particular I liked was an artichoke potato Greek soup I made from the dill and artichokes I grew. Now it is winter time, I don't have any fresh artichoke or dills, but still wanted to enjoy the soup. So I implemented with ingredients on hand, it turned out just as delicious!
Here's the winter recipe:
2 C. artichoke hearts (from a jar),
2 medium sized potatoes,
1 carrot,
1/2 small onion, sliced,
1 stalk of celery,cut up,
1 T. lemon juice,
2 T. olive oil,
2 C. chicken broth,
fresh or dried parsley,
Dill weeds,or dill weed blend,
salt and pepper to taste,
4 C. Water.
Wash and peel potatoes and carrot, cut into bit size pieces. Heat olive oil in a pot, add onions, saute until onion softens. Add chicken broth and water. Add all other ingredients, bring to a boil, cook for 20-25 minutes until vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper.
Growing a fresh vegetable garden is the first step to a good life. The next, is to learn how to preserve all the overflows from your garden, so that when winter arrives, the inevitable rain persists and the sun takes a three months leave of absence, or when you are blanketed under three foot of snow, you can still enjoy good food bursting with the summer flavor.
Sounds easy enough, but years ago when I was faced with all the extra vegetables coming out of the garden, I was overwhelmed. My initial attempts of preserving produced some pretty unpalatable results. Through trial and error and practice, I have developed some dishes that can be proud of. The important thing is to have a good plan, figuring out what to grow, what to preserve and what to do with the food you preserve. That way, coming harvest time, when all the eggplants, tomatoes, peppers and all the veggies pouring out of the garden, you can put your plan in action, meticulously and methodically pack way. Here are a couple recipes that I use every year.
Caponata:
Vegetables: 5 lb. Opus Eggplant, cut into 1/2" cubes, add 2 T. salt, allow to set for 4 hours, squeeze out as much liquid as you can, 5 large ribs of celery stalks, cut into 1/2" cubes, 2 C. carrots, cut into 1/2" cubes, 1 large onion, cut into 1/2" cubes. Side ingredients: 3 C. Green olives, cut up (I used the Italian Antipasto from the big box store), 1/2 C. capers, 1-1/2 C. raisins, 1 C. pine nuts.
Herbs and seasonings:2 C. fresh Basil, chopped, 2 heads fresh Garlic, peeled and crushed, 1/2 C. fresh fresh chopped oregano, hot pepper flakes to taste. 1/2 C. Olive oil, 1/2 C. Red Wine or Balsamic vinegar, 1 C. Brown sugar, 1 C. Homemade Tomato sauce, Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions: Saute vegetables in batches until they are soft, making sure all pieces of vegetables are well coated with olive oil. Add all other ingredients gradually, mix well, allow to cook together for 20 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
Homemade Tomato Sauce:
This is a easy tomato sauce recipe, because the sauce is cooked down in a crock pot, there is no waiting no stirring. Can the tomato sauce the next day, and the job is done!
Gather 15 lb. assorted tomatoes from the garden. They don't have to be perfect, just remove any blemishes and the stem ends. Cook in a large stainless steel stock pot until the tomatoes are soft and easy to break down. Run the tomatoes through a colander to remove the seeds and skin. Transfer the tomato sauce (at this stage very runny) in two oval shaped crock pots (5Q), add garlic, herbs (I use oregano and basil from my garden), lemon juice and salt. Let it cook overnight. The next morning, it should reduced by half. Pack the tomato sauce in clean jars, put lids on and process in hot water bath for 15 minutes. This will be the best tomato sauce you will ever eat! Great for making pizza and pasta.
Dried Tomato and Cayenne Pepper Packed in Olive Oil: While I was drying my tomatoes last year, I harvested a big basket of red cayenne pepper. I thought why not pack the peppers with the tomatoes? It turned out to be a real winner. I used this preserve to make an olive oil dip, which is tremendously popular. Here's how:
Heat some olive oil in the pan until hot, add some chopped up cayenne peppers, include the seeds if you like your preserve hot. Cook until you can smell the aroma of the peppers and turn off the heat. Mix in dehydrated tomatoes. Pack the mixture into jars, adding 1 t. salt in each jar. Add enough olive oil to cover. Screw on the top. The preserve will be good for 6 month stored in the refrigerator.
Infused Olive Oil Dip:
Add feta cheese, chopped kalamata olives, crushed garlic to the Dried Tomato and Cayenne Pepper Preserve, adjust salt level. Add enough olive oil for dipping. Serve with any type of fresh baked bread.
While living in California years ago, we lived next door to a Hispanic family, mom, dad and seven kids. The youngest among the bunch was Frankie, and Frankie's mom was always cooking. Since I am food curious by nature, I was over her house a lot. It was from her, I learned many of the authentic Mexican food I enjoy today. I had tacos, burritos, fried pork skin and beef tripe in lard and served with cilantro lime sauce. The family raised bunnies in the backyard and butchered them for delicious feasts, that's a story for another day. Today, I would like to share with you the shredded beef I learned from Frankie's mom.
You can say shredded beef is a main staple in Mexican food. It is easy to make and can be used in a varieties of Mexican dishes. I make burritos and tamales and freeze them. I am not a fan of processed store-bought frozen food. But this, my friend, is a much better way to enjoy frozen food. No preservatives, no extra fat, no extra salt, no MSG, just wholesome food that are frozen. I send these homemade goodies with the kids when they come visit, to make sure they are well fed in college....
3 lb. beef (any cut), cut into large pieces,
2 medium onions, chopped into large piece,
fresh tomatoes, or canned tomato sauce or left over salsa, 1 large dried Mexican Ancho chili pepper,
1 T. onion powder,
1 T. garlic powder,
1 T. Salt,
1 T. mole (from a jar. You can use other sauce you have on hand, such as chipotle)
Heat a heavy stainless or cast iron pot until very hot, add chopped upbeef. The beef will sizzle as it hit the pot. Let it brown on all sides, add the remaining ingredients. Cover with a tight led, let the meat simmer until tender and easily shredded. Approximately 2 hr. It is important, according to Frankie's mom, to let the meat cook in their own juice.
This beef can be used to make any of the Mexican entries calls for shredded beef, such as taco, burrito, tamales, sopes (Mexican pizzas) and tortas (Mexican hamburgs).
My friend came visit us and brought with her a fresh-caught steel head salmon. Just so happened I made some bagels. Gravlax! The thought marched right into my mind. Unfortunately, I didn't have any fresh dill on hand, so I substituted it with the McCormick salt free dill blend. It worked great, and it couldn't be easier!
1 part of granulated cane sugar, 1 part of kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and dill seasoning.
Place salmon in the center of a large piece of plastic wrap, cover salmon with the curing mix. Wrap tightly and place in a air tight container. Place in the refrigerator and let stand overnight. Yummmm!
Strange as this may sound, but you should start your garden planning with a cook book or by recalling your favorite recipes. Scan through the ingredients you are most likely to use, and grow as much as you can. When I first started gardening, I was happy just to get anything growing. Gradually, as I learn to work with the veggies and knowing their characteristics, I learned how to pace myself and plan ahead so I can harvest throughout the season.
* Consider what to grow and how many plants to grow, take into account if you are going to just eat them fresh and/or preserve them. Certain veggies you don't want to plant too many, like zucchini, unless you plan to preserve them, such as turning them into soup or dried zucchini chips.
* Plant zucchinis for Zucchini Pancakes. Preserving the extra zucchinis by making zucchini soup (I finally have a good recipe and a brand new pressure caner to do this.)
* Consider what to do with the vegetables once they mature. Have several recipes ready. Eggplant Parmesan might be good, but having it three times a week can get old quickly. Think of other recipes that use eggplant. Here it helps to think international. Experiment with moussaka (Greek), ratatouille (Italian), stir-fry (Chinese) or baba conoosh (Middle Eastern). You could also just Google image search "eggplant recipes", see which ones appeal to you and figure out how to make it.
*For quick maturing crop, you may want to plant a succession of it so you will have a steady supply of it, but not overloaded at any one time. Vegetables fit into this category are: lettuce, baby bok choy, radish and arugula. These things typically like cool weather and don't do well in the heat of summer. So start early and resume again after the hottest part of summer has passed.
* Plant beans for fresh eating and pickling.... Dilly beans, yummmm.....
* Plant peppers for fresh eating, stuffed peppers, chili rellleno, stir-fried peppers with chicken, beef. Roasted peppers. Pickled jalapeno peppers. Any left over peppers, cutup and freeze. Use them later for recipes like jambalaya, pasta sauce etc.
*Plant peas for fresh eating. Never a big fan of frozen peas... sorry :( They just don't have the crunchiness and sweet taste fresh peas do,..After the peas are done, put in kohlrabi. They should be good in the fall and into the winter.
* Plant cucumbers for fresh eating, Stallion White Cucumbers....ooooh, it's so good!
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