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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Christmas Dinner: A Traditional Thanksgiving Feast?


If you've read any of our recent holiday entries, you will have noticed that we partake in a traditional turkey dinner on Thanksgiving and then a vegetarian feast the day after. So, on Christmas Day, Andy doesn't miss the annual opportunity to make a sustainable Thanksgiving dinner. This year, we threw the cookbooks out, called family members to get recipes, and opened our refrigerator and cupboard in a vow to try to buy very little but the actual turkey itself.


After our "research," our menu consisted of the following:

Appetizers:
  • Cheese from our CSA box and crackers
  • Canned Pepper Jelly, cream cheese, and crackers
  • Irish cream/mimosas/red wine

Feast
  • Turkey
  • Mashed Roots
  • Mushroom Gravy
  • Stuffing
  • Buttered Beets
  • Cranberry Relish
  • A bottle of a big hearty Zinfandel (or two!)
Dessert:
  • Andy's dad's peanut clusters and coffee
Preparing this year's dinner made me truly thankful for our CSA. Having prepaid for our CSA box, we had to spend very little money other than for our turkey, crackers, some of the ingredients for drinks and the actual alcohol itself. We bought our turkey from a local farm, which helped the screaming, animal rights vegetarian within me to find a bit of peace with the soon-to-be cooking bird inside my home. Buying our food from local sources insures our money is going into the hands of the farmer and his workers. Plus the animals are allowed to walk and frolic for much of their lives as animals should, no matter what the end result. What a great holiday feeling for all involved!

Now for the recipes:

To make the turkey, Andy used the Poquette Thanksgiving turkey as a model. The night before, he soaked the turkey in the following brine:

2 cups salt
2 cups sugar
various herbs and spices (typically sage, thyme, oregano, pepper, etc.)
enough water to cover the bird

He submersed the bird in the brine inside of a cooler for 10 hours. The recommended time frame is 8-12 hours.

The next day, he stuffed our 12 lb. bird and put it in the oven for roughly 3.5 hours at 350 degrees. Obviously depending on the size of your bird, that might change. To check if the bird is done, either use a meat thermometer to be sure the coldest part of the turkey is at a minimum of 165 degrees and/or (Andy and my mom's favorite method) lift and twist a leg ~ if it pulls away from the bird with ease, it's done.

And now for everyone's favorite: the stuffing! Andy L.O.V.E.S. his dad's traditional stuffing, so there was no question as to where we'd get the recipe. Now this recipe might take some interpretation based on your culinary abilities, but who am I to alter the words of a family tradition? Here is the recipe, word-for-word as given to us, and I quote:

Simmer giblets in crock pot overnight with onion, celery, garlic, whatever-
Peel off neck meat. Put in processor with other giblet stuff and chop.
Sage and Onion
bread cubes

onion-chop

celery-slice

apple-slice beer
stock


Andy took the liberty of adding some leftover, stale cornbread, but other than that, pretty much followed the recipe "step-by-step." To make both vegetarian and regular stuffing, he simply combined all ingredients first and then added the turkey parts to just a portion, which later was stuffed into the turkey.

We didn't have any potatoes left in the house, so we decided to botch the myth that potatoes are necessary for a holiday feast and made mashed roots instead. They were so delicious!!!

Mashed Roots
cream cheese
butter
salt
milk
Any amount of any of the following roots will suffice:
rutabagas
turnips
celeriac

Peel and chop roots. Boil until tender. Drain water. Mash roots with cream cheese, milk, butter, and salt until desired consistency. We topped this off with gravy, but it was magnificently delicious on its own as well.


Buttered Beets
beets
butter
salt and pepper

Scrub beets clean. Boil beets until tender. Then slice off the ends and discard. Cut beets into bite-sized pieces. Serve with butter, salt and pepper. So simple, yet so very good!

Finally, the cranberry relish. My intention was to mimic the yummy raw cranberry salad from our Thanksgiving dinner at the Poquettes, but unfortunately, I didn't read Uncle Jim's recipe until Christmas Day... I was supposed to have made it the night before and refrigerated it. Oops! Next year, I guess. So, I threw together what I could. It turned out sweetly tart and tasty.

Cranberry Relish
1 pint cranberries
1 cup of orange juice
1.5 cups sugar
1 two-inch pieced of thinly sliced ginger
1 cup water
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the orange juice and ginger. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Add the cranberries, cinnamon, and cloves and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Serve.

What a feast!






Sunday, December 27, 2009

Holiday Spirits


Each year, our contribution to the Christmas Eve dinner at the Poquettes is traditional Irish Cream. We usually double the recipe in order to have some left for our own Christmas Day feast with my parents, the Lapps.

The recipe for this creamy concoction was handed down to me from my mom. She used to bring it to the dreaded holiday party in Illinois! I remember soaking down a few glasses to take the "edge off" along with my dad way back when. Now, there's no need to "take the edge off" as both of our current family parties are enjoyable. Now, the drink is simply for added pleasure!


We buy the following ingredients as locally as we can. Obviously the milk and eggs are from local farmers. The rest is purchased from our co-op. Next year, we're hoping to provide our own eggs with the chickens we WILL get in 2010 (New Year's Resolution #276).

Ingredients:
3 eggs (from local, free-range chickens please!)
1 Tbs. chocolate syrup
1 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. coconut extract
1/2 pint whipping cream (from happy, small-farm Wisconsin cows!)
1.5 pints of milk (happy Wisco cows once again!)
14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk (organic versions of this exist)
2 cups (or to your liking) Irish whiskey

Instructions:
1. Mix eggs, chocolate syrup, instant coffee, and coconut extract together.
2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Refrigerate and serve over ice.














Christmas Day wouldn't be complete without Mimosas. Luckily, our freezer is stocked with orange juice from oranges this past summer found in our CSA fruit box! Simply fill a glass three-quarters way with champagne or sparkling wine, and then fill up the flute with orange juice (or for fun, another juice of your liking!).




Sunday, December 6, 2009

Thanksgiving, Day Two: A Vegetarian Feast


We spend the day after Thanksgiving with my parents, the Lapps. It has become our tradition to make a modified version of Vegetarian Times' holiday menu of the year. This year, the theme was Soul Celebration, which featured: Butternut Squash-Bartlett Pear Soup; Citrus Collards with Raisins; Smothered Seitan Medallions in Mixed Mushroom Gravy, Cumin-Cayenne Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions, and our personal addition: squash pie with freshly-whipped heavy cream. Vegetarian Times' menu also included Carrot-Cranberry Salad and a Chocolate-Pecan Pie, but we opted to skip those.

We began the day by making the mushroom broth needed for the gravy. The recipe made way more than we needed, so we now have lots of broth frozen for future use. Quite yummy! Even all alone.

'Shroom Stock (makes six cups)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 lb. portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 large onion, diced (including skin)
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 oz. dried-shitake mushrooms
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled (I think we used more!)
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme (still picking from the herb garden...amazing!)
1/2 ts. coarse sea salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Saute all ingredients in pot for 5 minutes. Add 9 cups of water; simmer 1 hour. Strain.

PER 1-CUP SERVINGS: 30 CAL, 0 G PROT; 2 G TOTAL FAT; 2 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 184 MG SOD; 1 G SUGARS

Next, we made the Butternut-Squash Bartlett Pear Soup. We've made plenty of different squash/pear soup combinations in the past, but this is the first one which called for coconut milk. We felt a bit guilty buying a product that is so obviously not local, but we decided to indulge on such a product anyway. The coconut milk added a nice creamy texture and sweet flavor to the soup that we haven't had in our other recipes.

We had so much of this that we were able to get through the whole next week of work with this soup as our lunch.

Butternut Squash-Bartlett Pear Soup (makes six cups)
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts finally chopped (3 cups) ~ from our box!
1 small butternut squash, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 lbs) ~ from our freezer!
3 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (1 1/2 lb) ~ from our box!
5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth ~ from our freezer!
1 14-oz can light coconut milk ~ eeks! from the Caribbean!
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme ~ from our garden!
Pumpkin seeds for garnish, optional ~ we didn't do this!


1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks, and cook 10 minutes, or until soft. Stir often.
2. Add squash and pears, and saute 5 minutes. Stir in vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add salt, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, or until squash if fork-tender. (We didn't add our squash here because we used pureed squash from our freezer; you'd only add it here if you were using fresh squash.)
3. Remove from heat, and stir in coconut milk (this is where we added our squash). Puree soup in batches in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan, and stir in thyme. Reheat over medium-low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Season with salt and white pepper, if desired. Serve with pumpkin seeds, if using.

PER 1 CUP SERVINGS: 264 CAL; 3 G PROTEIN; 13 G TOTAL FAT (5 G SAT. FAT); 37 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 138 MG SOD; 8 G FIBER; 15 G SUGAR

While Andy got the soup finished, I began the Mixed Mushroom Gravy.

Mixed Mushroom Gravy (makes 2 cups)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 lb. button mushrooms
1/4 b. baby bella mushrooms
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 cup unflavored rice milk (we used cow's milk)
1 cup 'Shroom Stock (made earlier)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper (we used black pepper)
1. Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add all mushrooms, and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in flour and remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes, or until flour begins to brown, whisking constantly.
2. Whisk in milk, 'Shroom Stock, salt, and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes, or until thickened, whisking often.

PER 1/3 CUP SERVINGS: 77 CAL; <1>

Once finished with the gravy, I began the Smothered Seitan Medallions in Mixed Mushroom Gravy.

Smothered Seiten Medallions in Mixed Mushroom Gravy (inspired by smothered pork chops) ~ makes 9 cups

1
lb. seitan, cut into medallions
5 Tbs. arrowroot powder
1 cup pus 2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
1 large onion ~ from our box!
5 cloves of garlic
2 cups Mixed Mushroom Gravy (made earlier)
2 cups 'Shroom Stock (made earlier)
1
cup finely chopped green cabbage ~ from our box!
2
jalapeno chiles, minced
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 Tbs. chopped parsley ~ from our herb garden!

1. Coat seiten pieces with arrowroot.
2. Heat 1/2 cup oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Fry half of seitan in oil 3 minutes per side. Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate. Discard oil, wipe out skillet, and repeat with 1/2 cup oil and remaining seiten. Discard.
3. Add remaining 2 Tbs. oil and onion in hot skillet. Increase heat to high, and saute 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and saute 3 minutes. Stir in Mixed Mushroom Gravy, 'Shroom Stock, and seiten. Cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Add cabbage, and cook 3 minutes. Stir in jalapenos, green onions, and parsley.

PER 1. 5 CUP SERVINGS: 287 CAL; 22 G PROTEIN; 13 G TOTAL FAT (2 G SAT. FAT); 21 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 302 MG SOD; 2 G FIBER; 5 G SUGAR

Next on the agenda was to get the potatoes ready! These potatoes were truly magnificent! I imagine that I will whip these up again, with or without the gravy. These would go perfectly with a piece of Willy Street Co-op's Southern Fried Tofu, or for you omnivores out there, I would guess that these potatoes would go well with any type of meat.

Cumin-Cayenne Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions (makes 4.5 cups)
2 lb Potatoes, peeled and cubed ~ from our garden!
1 large onion ~ from our box!
5 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup unflavored rice milk (we used cow's milk)
2 Tbs. thyme ~ from our herb garden
1. Boil potatoes in enough water to cover 25 minutes, or until soft.
2. Meanwhile, saute onion, oil, cumin, salt, and cayenne in skillet over low heat 30 minutes, or until browned. Stir in rice milk and thyme.
3. Drain potatoes, and mash. Whisk onion mixture into potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

PER 3/4 CUP SERVINGS: 277 CAL; 4 G PROTEIN; 12 G TOTAL FAT (2 G SAT. FAT); 40 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 213 MG SOD; 4 G FIBER; 4 G SUGAR

Right before serving up dinner, we made the personal highlight for my taste buds ~ Citrus Collards with Raisins! Even writing this right now, my mouth is watering! This dish was perfectly sweet, bitter, and citrusy. The raisins added a nice texture, and the orange juice lightened up the taste of the greens. This is a keeper!

Citrus Collards with Raisins (makes 3 cups)
1 1/2 lb collard greens, tough stems trimmed
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice ~ oranges from our fruit box!

1
. Stack several collard greens atop one another, and roll into a tight cylinder. Slice crosswise into strips.
2. Cooks greens in a large pot of boiling, salted water 8 to 10 minutes, or until softened. Drain, and plunge into large bowl of cold water to stop cooking.
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and saute 1 minute. Add drained collards, raisins, and salt, and saute 3 minutes. Stir in orange juice, and cook 15 seconds more. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

PER 1/2 CUP SERVINGS: 105 CAL; 3 G PROTEIN; 3 G TOTAL FAT (LESS THAN 1 G SAT FAT); 21 G CARB; O MG CHOL; 65 MG SOD; 3 G FIBER; 12 G SUGAR

G
etting all of this on the table at the same time was a trick and was not successfully done! We haven't cooked this many dishes at once for quite a while, and we underestimated the time it would take to make the seiten medallions. Luckily, my parents are very flexible. We ended up having the soup early to tide us over. Hours later, we had the rest of dinner. We paired this all with a nice, robust, and fruity Zinfandel.

We ended the feast with homemade squash pie. Earlier this year, we pureed and froze several bags of squash. Our Thanksgiving would have been much more stressful had it not been for those bags of orange goodness waiting for us in the freezer. Our pies were among the easiest of the dishes for this party because of that advance preparation. The addition of freshly whipped cream was splendid!

Squash Pie
3 cups roasted, pureed squash
1 c sugar
1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt, optional
4 large eggs
1.5 cans of evaporated milk

1. Strain the squash puree to rid excess water. This can be done the night before; it should typically strain for four hours or more.
2. Once the squash is strained, mix all ingredients together and put into a pie crust. We got a yummy "from scratch" pre-made pie crust from the Willy Street Co-op.
3. Bake at 425 F for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Whip up some heavy whipping cream, sweetened with sugar and vanilla, and garnish pie! Yum!




Saturday, December 5, 2009

Thanksgiving Traditions, Day One

During the holiday season, Andy and I continue to make it a priority to live both sustainably and compassionately. Each year, for Andy's side of the family, we provide the bird. I am a vegetarian, but I realize that at this time of the year, there will be meat on virtually every table in America, so we do our best to assure that the bird Andy and the rest of the family is eating has been treated kindly, with respect, and is antibiotic- and hormone-free. In early November, Andy orders the family bird from a local farm.


Andy's dad treated this turkey with a brine this year, which Andy tells me made it super moist and delicious. The majority of the guests commented that it was the tastiest turkey ever! Way to go, Mike! Alongside the turkey were plenty of yummy vegetarian sides. Andy's mom made her "famous" baked beans ~ sweet and slightly spicy (I had to go back for seconds!); Andy's dad prepared a batch of local and organic pureed squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes from their CSA farm (Primrose Farms) This blended Vitamin A Extravaganza (as named by Mike) of Butternut, Acorn and Delicata squash with the carrots and sweet potatoes was silky, smooth, and perfectly buttered and seasoned. The cranberries were also a very special treat this year: Andy's Uncle Jim made an organic, raw cranberry relish, which was honestly (this dish calls for a cliche) out-of-this-world! So delicious!

Andy made his signature Thanksgiving dish: Fresh Green Bean Casserole (no canned or processed food here!). As always, the combination of "fresh veggies", homemade cream sauce, and crispy made-from-scratch onion rings tantalized our taste buds!

Fresh Green Bean Casserole (adapted from Harmony Valley Farm's 09/10/05 Newsletter)
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, plus more to spread on dish
1 medium onion, cut into 1/4" dice
1 red bell pepper (We used frozen, roasted red peppers from this summer's harvest!)
1/2 lb. mushrooms, stems trimmed and mushrooms quartered
1 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3/4 lbs. frozen (or fresh) green beans, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
1/4 pound frozen (or fresh) sweet corn kernels
3 T all-purpose flour
1 C milk
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1/2 C grated Parmesan
1/4 C breadcrumbs
1/4 C canola oil
2-3 onions and/or shallots, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch sections

1. In a large skillet over med. heat, melt 2 T butter. Add onion & sauté about 4 minutes. Add bell pepper (we used frozen roasted peppers) & mushrooms, & cook about 8 minutes. Season with 1/2 tsp salt & 1/8 tsp pepper. Let cool.
2. Toss thawed beans & sweet corn with mushroom mixture; set aside.
3. Melt the remaining butter in a medium saucepan over med-low heat. Add 3 T flour, whisk constantly until mixture begins to turn golden, about 2 min. Pour in milk, & continue whisking until mixture has thickened, about 3 min. Stir in cayenne, nutmeg, & the remaining tsp salt & 1/8 tsp pepper. Remove from heat, & let cool to room temp, stirring occasionally. Pour over beans; toss to combine.
4. Butter a 9"-by-9" glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread half the green-bean mixture over the bottom. Sprinkle on half the grated Parmesan, & spread with the remaining green beans. Combine the remaining Parmesan & the breadcrumbs, & sprinkle over casserole. Cover with foil, & refrigerate until just before serving.
5. Heat canola oil in a medium skillet over med-high heat. Toss shallot rings with the remaining 2 T flour. Fry the shallots in batches, turning frequently, until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Place in an airtight container, & set aside until ready to serve.
6. Heat broiler, positioning rack about 8" from heat. Cook casserole, covered, until bubbly & heated through, about 10 min. Uncover; cook until top is golden brown, about 30 sec. Sprinkle fried shallots over top; serve immediately.