Spices create warm depth of flavor and comfort that are welcome in winter. With plentiful potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions in the cellar, and homemade bacon, I was ready to make chowder this weekend when I came across great mussels in the market and rescued an organic, though not local, red pepper from the 69-cents-per-pound [...]
Archive for January, 2012
Curried Mussel Chowder
Posted in Seafood, Shellfish, Soup, Sweet potato, tagged Curried mussel chowder on January 30, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Indian-spiced Chickpeas and Mushrooms
Posted in Beans and legumes, Mushrooms on January 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Indian spices are the highlight of this otherwise earthy combination of cooked chickpeas and mushrooms, which is sparked by a generous amount of ginger. While I served it with chicken from our recent Sunday roast, it would be equally at home as a vegetarian meal with a salad or as the filling for a wrap, [...]
Dark Days 10 One-Pot Challenge: Sunday Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables and Cider
Posted in Apple, Chicken, Dark Days Challenge, Sweet potato, Turnips and rutabagas, tagged Chicken and root vegetables in cider on January 25, 2012 | 2 Comments »
A continuing series on weekly meals that use sustainable, organic, local and ethical food during the challenging winter months. For more information, go here to the DDC section of Not Dabbling in Normal’s website: Dark Days Challenge. … In which I improve my roasting skills and create a Sunday meal that will give us inspired [...]
Dark Days 10 One-Pot Challenge: Full of Beans, a Turkey Chili
Posted in Beans and legumes, Chicken, Chili, Dark Days Challenge, tagged Turkey chili with poblano peppers on January 25, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
A continuing series on weekly meals that use sustainable, organic, local and ethical food during the challenging winter months. For more information, go here to the DDC section of Not Dabbling in Normal’s website: Dark Days Challenge. … In which I resolve my husband’s diet dilemma during football playoffs by applying dark days’ local logic. [...]
Black-eyed Peas with Butternut Squash
Posted in Beans and legumes, Winter squash, tagged Cooking colorful legumes on January 22, 2012 | 2 Comments »
A brightly colored one-pot meal for our first blustery winter day of snowy ground and gray sky. Sprightly hues and sparky fresh ginger made this a perfect antidote to a dull day. Besides, making another tasty meal based on legumes is part of my resolve to prove that a diet of dried beans, lentils and [...]
Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Chard
Posted in Beans and legumes, Soup on January 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I am returning to earth-mother mode now that holiday excesses are receding. Other than local fare, which we are committed to eat, we are focused on whole grains and legumes. We can get some reasonably local dried beans – from Cayuga Organics in the Finger Lakes district of New York State — but need to [...]
Dark Days 9: Cabbage Rolls with Pork, Shitakes, Ginger and Scallions
Posted in Cabbage, Dark Days Challenge, Pork, tagged Pork-stuffed cabbage on January 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
A continuing series on weekly meals that use sustainable, organic, local and ethical food during the challenging winter months. For more information, go here to the DDC section of Not Dabbling in Normal’s website: Dark Days Challenge. Three community farmers’ markets in as many days, and more coming within weeks. Wow, an unprecedented bright sign [...]
Vin d’Oranges
Posted in Citrus fruit, Drinks, Preserving, tagged Making aperitifs, Vin d'oranges homemade on January 15, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Putting food in jars is not instant gratification. It’s not like cooking supper, when you’ll know right away whether you’ve been successful. Sometimes you have to wait a few months to know if you guessed right and a whole year before you can make another attempt. It’s really no different from gardening in that sense, [...]
Quince, the Quintessential Marmalade
Posted in Preserving, Preserving with Plagemann & Fisher, tagged Quince marmalade methods on January 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Another in a series in which I comment on M.F.K. Fisher’s 1986 annotations of Catherine Plagemann’s 1967 Fine Preserving, layering past and present, research, experimentation and outright opinion. This project is a blast. Did you know that the word “marmalade” is derived from “marmelo,” the Portuguese word for quince? Apparently, the confection was originally made [...]
Risotto with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Posted in Greens, Risotto, tagged Using meat as a garnish on January 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Ta da! My first experience growing broccoli rabe has been a success. I planted it in early September and hoped that it would mature enough to harvest or possibly over-winter for a spring crop. We’ve been nursing it along with a blanket cover during dips below freezing and finally, as it started to flower and [...]
