Recipe #7: Blackbeard's Black Bean Chili

For Ardis's 3rd birthday, we decided we were finally ready to party. She chose a pirate theme (which I will admit, I loved!). I had far too much fun finding ideas for food and decorations and games. Unfortunately, the games were rained out. Thankfully, the food and decor seemed to be a hit. We made up the following recipe for black bean chili (a vegetarian alternative at the party). It makes a rather large amount- which can either be halved easily or frozen...or shared for that matter.

Blackbeard's Black Bean Chili

2 bags dried black beans (picked through for rocks and other misc. debris)
2 bell peppers (diced)
1 bag of frozen corn
2 cans of diced potatoes (because I was running out of time)
2 cans of diced tomatoes (because I'd forgotten to defrost frozen ones- I would've preferred them pureed as well)
homemade vegetable stock (I don't know for sure how much I used...likely it was around 60 ounces)

4 tablespoons of chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon basil
2-3 cloves of garlic

1) Put beans in a large pot and cover with water - enough water to be 3-4 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit covered for an hour. Drain, rinse, return to pot. 2) Add stock. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 3) Add corn, bell pepper, tomatoes, potatoes, and spices. Bring to a slow boil. Cook until beans are tender (likely another 20 minutes or so). 4) enjoy!

Recipe #6: Ms. Shelia's Chicken Taco Soup

I got the original recipe from a cook that worked at the school. However, it is much changed in the version below. When we first made it, we were learning our preferences for soups and chilis. I found this an easy recipe to adjust flavor wise. I am going to post the recipe for the cheaters version, then list my liner notes for my "super homemade version."

Ingredients:
1 box of chicken broth
1 can each: light kidney beans, dark kidney beans, pinto beans
1 large can chicken
1 29 oz can tomato sauce
1 can of corn optional

1 tbls onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbls chili powder
1 tbls basil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika

Drain and rinse beans. Drain chicken and corn. Put in pot with broth and tomato sauce. Add spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Serves 8-ish. Depends on how much they eat.

Now for the super homemade version has several steps that you can take or leave depending on your commitment level for the evening- as well as how stocked your freezer is.

*I usually start the beans from scratch- as in from dry beans. (I will often use a variety of kidney beans, pintos, black beans, and/or navy. Most cook in the exact same way- and I never soak them overnight, opting instead for the "fast cook" method. Instructions are listed on the bags.) After the first soaking, when the "real" cooking begins I will add the chicken stock with some water. At this moment, I might choose to add 2 quarts of stock instead of one depending on how overboard I went with the beans. The beans will also affect the cooking time- because the soup isn't ready until the beans are tender
*I use a rotisserie chicken instead of canned (baked chicken breast works just as well- even left over baked chicken). I also save it until the beans are almost tender so that it doesn't get over worked in the soup.
*I use homemade chicken stock from the freezer (usually a quart- and made from the carcass of the rotisserie chicken)
*I use tomatoes that we have frozen from the summer time (again, a quart-thawed and well pureed, because I do not do chunks.) Fresh tomatoes from the grocery store will work as well- and might even benefit from being roasted in the oven first.
*I have to double or triple the seasoning to taste. I find a real onion to be a bit overpowering in this soup, so I tend to stick with flakes- I will substitute minced garlic cloves for the powder. If I have basil frozen in the freezer, I will use it instead of dry.
*Depending on what we have on hand and how full the pot is, I might add a bag of frozen corn, fresh bell peppers, etc. The recipe is not static and can be adjusted with ease. Think about what you like.

Making it this way results in dinner for us, a quart for Jesse's family, 3 or 4 quarts to freeze, several lunches for Jesse, and, possibly, left overs another night. It freezes beautifully and reheats well on the stove. The next time I make this, I am going to roast the garlic as well as a real onion in the oven and puree them with the tomatoes to see how that affects the flavor of the soup.

I hope this recipe finds its way into your repertoire for the cool weather of Autumn.

Pears, please- A couple of recipes and lessons all rolled into one

Wow! School is back in full swing, though this past week has been half day, and it has left me little time for posting during the week. You'll have to bear with me as I get my routine adjusted. At the very least, my husband and I got it together enough this weekend to tag team sourdough bread making. I've realized that I'd yet to give an update about my adventures in pear preserve making, so while the bread bakes....

We picked all of the pears off of the tree at the beginning of August. We'd read that they could be picked before they were fully ripe and would sit well for a week or so. Some of the pears on the tree had a lovely flavor while still being firm.. Ardis enjoyed getting to cut up one for herself and eat it.

When we finally had an afternoon available to devote to the pears (due to deer eating the figs at a my mom's house), we began by peeling the pears, and chopping them finely. While looking up recipes is my Ball Blue Book (a name I do not recommend saying in a hurry), I realized that my grandmother (and, now me, because I follow her instructions) did not make "preserves" instead she made "jam." Curious about how Ball suggested to treat the pears, we choose to split the almost 16 cups of chopped goodness into two batches: one for the Ball Blue Book instructions and one for the "Louise" treatment.

Now for those of you that don't know about making apple jelly and pear jelly, you don't actually use the fruit. You can cheat and buy juice at the store, or you can use the peel! I have never actually made pear jelly but felt pretty confident that I knew the basics. I put the peels on the stove with 3 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water. I do not know how many cups of peels were used. While that simmered on the stove on low, we continued with the other recipes.

After reading on the Ball Blue Book as well as the recipes on the jar of pectin, we put a very full 7 cups of pears on the stove with 3 tablespoons of powdered pectin, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and brought it to a boil (which sounds easy, but took quite a while). After it boiled, I followed the rest of the instructions on the jar of pectin- which included adding the sugar ( 2 1/2 cups) and returning the pears to "a boil that cannot be stirred down." At this point, we were able to ladle the very hot jam into the very hot, sterilized jars.

Grandmother Louise's recipe calls for equal portions fruit and sugar with lots of slow cooking. I am never brave enough to actually do the full amount of sugar-especially, when working with 7 cups of fruit. Instead, I covered the 7 cups of finely chopped pears with 3 cups of sugar and drizzled a 1/2 cup of lemon juice over the top. These pears were put in the fridge to allow them to macerate overnight.

Returning to the peels, we realized that we were getting a beautiful syrup that was thickening, but not gelling. A little research let me know that the peels would likely have required the use of pectin- which should have been added BEFORE the sugar since I was using the powdered version. oops. However, we strained the peels out and continued to cook the jelly until it was thick enough to form jelly droplets along the edge of a spoon. We ladled it into hot jars as well (straining it again through a tiny little sieve that I'm fairly certain was not meant for such a purpose). After two weeks, the jelly is still syrup and can officially be reprocessed to add the missing pectin. I'm excited because it is the most beautiful shade of golden yellow.

After a day of macerating, Grandmother Louise's preserves were cooked on low until boiling. Once they began to boil, we waited until the fruit and syrup would "mound" on a spoon (i.e. when you scoop a spoonful up, you had a pile of fruit and syrup instead of escapee fruit fleeing for the pot again). Again, we ladled the sweet goodness into hot jars.

All of the jelly and preserves were processed in a hot water bath for about 10 minutes because the jars were only half pints. We ended up with a total of 8 jars of jam and 5 jars of soon to be jelly. Grandmother Louise's are slightly runny while the Ball recipe with pectin resulted in a "hard set." The taste is almost identical. Both are excellent on homemade sourdough bread.

Recipe #5: Grandma Louise's Green Tomato Relish

I am going to be transcribing this recipe directly from the much worn,highly loved, and lightly yellowed recipe card that is covered with my, now, 96-year-old grandma's very recognizable scrawl. I will provide a few notes at the end to pass-on the extra tidbits she has shared with my mother (and, later, with me) over the years about making this particular recipe.

Green Tomato Relish

2 quarts chopped tomatoes
2 cups chopped sweet pepper
2 cups chopped onion
1/4 to 1/2 cup hot pepper (optional)
2 cups sugar
2 cups vinegar
little salt

Cook until thickens. Seal in jars. You may use ripe tomatoes if you like.

So that is her recipe. Pretty basic. Pretty wonderful. Pretty much just like her.

So here are the liner notes:

*Remember that no matter what, you just need to have 3 quarts to 3 quarts plus 1/2 cup of vegetables to 2 cups of vinegar and 2 cups of sugar- if you use 2 1/2 cups of onion and 1 1/2 cups of pepper, no problem. Don't have enough green tomatoes? Throw in a few ripe. Accidently cut up 2 1/2 quarts of tomatoes? Just lower the amount of onion and peppers. You will end up with beautiful relish no matter what. Different colored tomatoes and peppers just add to the appeal. Just remember to keep the ratio of veggies to vinegar to sugar. The recipe is even easily halved if need be.

*Kind of vinegar doesn't matter- you can use apple cider, regular, white wine, etc. Remember that your vinegar needs to have 5% acidity

*She never talked about "processing" the relish. However, I do. After studying multiple relish recipes, comparing ingredients, looking at quanities produce, etc. I decided to process mine in a hot water bath 10 mins for half-pints and 15 mins for pints. You'll likely not want to can this in quart jars. You do need to make sure use hot sterilized jars and follow all traditional canning basics.

I may add more notes as my mom reminds me of other Grandma Louise-isms.

Recipe #4: Tiffany's Bowl and Spoon Cookies

The following recipe is from one of my favorite people and is my long-distance partner in canning. While I don't know if the recipe is "her's" or from a book, I have it written into my recipe book as "Tiffany's Bowl and Spoon Cookies" because I will never be able to separate their existance from memories of her. I like them because they are a basic 5 ingredient cookie- great for when you need something a little sweet, but don't want a big mess. Below you will find the recipe, almost exactly as she sent it to me, followed by my own personal notes and observations. Enjoy!

These chocolate cookies may be the easiest and perhaps most fudge-y, therefore delicious, cookies you will ever make. There are no eggs, no added sugar, no stand mixer necessary.

Ingredients:
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 T unsalted butter
1 12-oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips*
1 c flour
1 t vanilla
pecan halves

In a large glass measuring cup, combine milk, butter, and chips. Microwave for 2 minutes or until melted. Add flour and vanilla, stir until combined. The mixture will resemble fudge. Drop by heaping spoonful on a parchment lined baking sheet. Remember, they are bowl and spoon cookies. Press a pecan half onto each mound of dough. Bake for 3 minutes in a 350 degree oven, turn baking sheet and bake for an additional 4 minutes. Cool and serve. These can be stored for up to four days.


*After doing a little experimenting of my own- you can use any variation of morsels so long as you have 2 cups worth. You may need to add a little extra flour every once in a while to thicken the mixture if you use a variation of morsels. Pecans can be mixed into the batter as well as being put on top. Don't be afraid of using other toppers (larger chocolate morsels work well). I dislike using parchment paper. A greased cookie sheet works just as well.

cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater- a recipe and a lesson

I decided to make chicken and dumplings for our Friday night dinner with friends. Chicken and dumplings is another one of my food memories-and likely what I would request as my last meal should the need arise. My mother’s chicken and dumplings were very basic. As a full-time teacher and mother, she’d mastered the art of the 30 minute meal long before it was a glimmer in Rachel Ray’s eyes. Many of her meals contained super easy short cuts involving cans and seasonings and were made to provide us with easy to reheat leftovers, which as an adult I can’t help but love. Yet as an adult, I am also deluged with media about pitfalls of “processed” foods, eating healthier, and the needs of my own wallet. My own version of chicken and dumplings contains many cheats as well but of a different variety-and likely a little too decadent to be healthy.  I like to get a rotisserie chicken from the deli. One chicken will provide us with 3 meals and a carcass for making chicken stock (see Side note #1). With part of the chicken (a breast or two neatly sliced or pulled apart), a quart or so of homemade chicken stock, butter (or margarine- about 4 tablespoons per quart of stock), and a little heavy whipping cream (a cup per quart of stock), the broth is well underway. I continue to cheat by making Tandy’s (my cousin) biscuits (see Side note #2). Once the broth is nicely simmering and has been salt and peppered, I drop the biscuits in slowly waiting for each one to float back to the surface before dropping in the next so as to make sure I don’t accidently double stack them. Put the lid back on the pot and allow the entire thing to continue to simmer. 30 to 45 minutes later, if the bisuits no longer are glossy or wet looking on top and are pulling away from the sides of the pot at little, you have succeeded-- Glorious chicken and dumplings served on buttered rice with green peas. *begin jealously drooling now* The bonus of this meal is that it makes enough for another meal one evening and a couple of lunches for Jesse at work (see Side note #3).

I followed the meal with my first attempt at making fried pies. My Aunt Nancye had given me a baggie of dehydrated peach slices on our recent visit to Virginia.  I do not eat cooked fruit. No way, no how. Something about the texture change is beyond my abilities. However, my husband, most of his family, and many of my family members will eat up any version of pie, cobbler, or tart without hesitation, meddling fingers beware. I put half the bag of peaches in a tiny sauce pan with a little water and brought them to a nice simmer. As the peaches began to look more like fruit and less like leather, I added a little more water. When we were pretty sure the peaches were tender, I cheated (again!) with canned biscuits, per my Aunt Nancye’s instructions. Each biscuit was rolled or patted thin (Ardis’s preferred method), loaded up with peachy goodness, and crimped closed along the edges. Jesse fried them for me. The biscuits puffed up and were super crispy. I’m assuming from the way that Jesse gobbled them down that they were indeed excellent.  Thankfully, I still have half a bag of peaches left for making pies later on (see Side note #4).

Side note #1:  Stock is a great way to get your money’s worth out of any protein, especially if you have freezer space.  Google a few recipes. I’ll post a lesson for making stock in a week or so if the demand is high enough. Let me reassure you that it is VERY easy to make- and super tasty.

Side note #2: These biscuits are by far the easiest biscuits to make. EVER.  The recipe is simply 1 pint heavy whipping cream to 2 ½ cups White Lily Self-Rising flour. Tandy was adamant that White Lily was the only flour that would work.  Mix the heavy whipping cream and flour. Either roll out the biscuits and cut, shape by hand, or drop by the spoonful onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at  425 until they look like biscuits (i.e. golden brown around the bottom edges and a little brown beginning on top, about 10-15 minutes). Please note that if you are using this recipe for dumplings, do not bake the biscuits first. You'll need to drop the raw dough into the broth and allow the broth to cook the dumplings for you.

Side note #3: If you don’t have homemade stock, a large carton of store bought chicken broth is great. No heavy whipping cream, milk, or half and half? Add a can of cream of chicken or cream of celery soup. No rotisserie chicken? Left over baked chicken or canned chicken will fit the bill nicely. Don’t get too hung up on proportions and remember to taste it as you go. If you use store bought broth and soup, don’t add extra salt.

Side note #4: I’ve almost convinced myself that these could be made with a little jelly (which I will eat) in the middle instead of actual fruit. If I get brave enough to try it, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Recipe #4: My Mother's Lemon Meringue Pie

We all have those food memories- foods that we remember getting to eat as a kid, special treats that someone in our family made only on certain occasions, special holidays. Foods that we would daydream about, drool over as the ingredients were placed in the grocery cart at the grocery store, relish the smell of in the house, and, of course, devour every smidgen on your plate before anyone else had even picked up a fork. I'm certain plate-licking is often involved with these foods.

One of my many food memories is my mother's lemon meringue pie. Generally, I always associate this pie with my brother and his birthday because he would request it yearly in place of a cake. I prefer it to most others because of the crust made from Ritz crackers. You'll need one round pie pan.

Ingredients:

Crust: 2 tubes of regular Ritz crackers (don't get the no salt ones- trust me :)

Custard: 1 can of condensed milk
              1/2 cup lemon juice
              2 egg yolks

Meringue: 3 egg whites
               1/4 tsp of cream of tartar
               1 tsp vanilla
               a slightly heaping 1/4 cup sugar

Crush one tube of crackers and pour it into the bottom of the pie pan. Open the other tube and place crackers along the outside of the pan all the way around. It is likely that they will not touch each other.
Mix custard ingredients and pour it into the pie pan. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla on medium to medium-high until they form soft peaks. Continue beating and slowly add sugar. Once all sugar has been added, beat on high until firm peaks form in the meringue. Gently pour onto custard and lightly smooth/swirl the top. Bake at 325 until the meringue is lightly brown.

Recipe #3: Ms. Terry's Muffins

Muffins! Glorious, muffins! You know you love them. I do. My co-worker (and good friend), Ms. Terry, passed this recipe along to me after her class made a batch of delicious, made-from-scratch mini-muffins. I probably had more than my fair share.

Basic Muffin Recipe

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup blueberries* ( fresh or frozen, unthawed ar fine)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Combine egg, milk, and oil. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in liquid- stir until moistened. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full (should make about a dozen regular sized muffins). Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes.

*Self-rising flour can be used, just omit salt and baking soda as well. Don't like blueberries? Nuts, chocolate chips, and other fruits can be substituted for blueberries.

I like to make these with one part all-purpose flour and one part wheat flour. I also like adding 1/2 cup bran cereal to the mix. If you add bran, you'll need to increase the milk to 3/4 cup. If you use fruit that has been cut-up (like strawberries), I suggest mixing them in with the wet ingredients instead of dry.

Recipe #2: Homemade Ice Cream

A few years ago, my Aunt Jen shared her recipe for making homemade ice cream. We'd gone to her house to swim- and she made ice cream for us. It's a super simple recipe- and adapts itself well to the addition of things like fruit (diced strawberries are great) or chocolate syrup (yum!). You'll need a good old-fashion electric ice cream maker. Follow its instructions for the actual ice cream making part. Below are the ingredients you'll need for the canister.

Ingredients:
 1 can of condensed milk
 1 tablespoon of self rising flour
 1 splash of vanilla (optional depending on the flavors you might add)
 About a half gallon of milk (enough milk to fill the canister to the "fill" line- it could be more or less than a half gallon. The quantity depends on how much additional stuff you add.)

I have found that this recipe works best when you mix the condensed milk, flour, vanilla, any other ingredients, with a little of the milk BEFORE putting them in the canister. The ice cream has a slight "snow cream" quality.

One of my favorite versions of this ice cream included a lot of additions:
a couple of tablespoons of banana syrup, chocolate syrup, peanut butter morsels, and marshmallows! It was pretty awesome.

If you are adding fruit, I suggest dicing the fruit finely so that it easy to eat. (One time in a rush, I only sliced the strawberries- they were just too hard to enjoy) Sprinkle a little sugar over the fruit and let it macerate until it's nice and juicy- the juice will help to flavor the ice cream.

I hope you enjoy!

Recipe #1: Mocha Spice Sugar Scrub

The kids in my toddler class at school made this for their mommies for Mother's Day. The toddlers helped to grind the coffee using an "old-fashioned" hand crank grinder I purchased at a consignment shop as well as the nutmeg with a little grinder from the Montessori Services Catalogue.

Your own preparation does not need to be so complex. You should have all of these ingredient in your kitchen cabinets. Otherwise, they can be easily purchased at the grocery store. Remember, that you'll need to use the scrub within a week or so of making it.

Ingredients:

1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon ground coffee
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 generous pinch ginger
1 generous pinch nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 cup cold press light smelling oil such a jojoba, almond, grape seed, or safflower (which we used)
                 *note: safflower, grape seed, and almond oil will be found with the COOKING oils not in the beauty section. jojoba can be found at health food stores and herb shops. Olive oil could be used, but the smell isn't really that great with coffee*

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.  Add the oil slowly until your desired consistency is reached.

Use the scrub before you shower (with or without a loofah, depending on how much exfoliation you want). Beware of slippery bath tubs and shower stalls. If you feel sticky after your shower, wash lightly with soap.

ENJOY!