Preserving: Peaches in Syrup

Back when I visited my grandmother in early July, I noticed an abundance of pears developing on the tree in her backyard. Last year, I used them to make a couple batches of pear sauce, but this year, the gears in my brain started going and I came up with a more ambitious list. Now that the pears are ready, I went with my mom and brother this past weekend to pick some. 

Last year, I attempted to pick pears on my own. Unfortunately, Grandma only had one rickety five-foot ladder and couldn't tell me where the long pear picker was. I attempted to get up onto the roof of the carport, but being out of shape and short, it didn't go very well. This year, I made sure there were reinforcements. My mom knew where the pear picker was, my brother was able to hop up on the carport roof and pick the good high ones, and I just scurried around on the lawn, collecting the pears as they were tossed down.

Most of the pears need to soften just a bit before they're usable, but I still managed to make a few things with Jeff yesterday. We made one batch of pears in syrup and some pear jelly (using the leftover peels and cores).

So what does all of this have to do with peaches, you ask? Making these peaches in syrup a week or so ago made the pears go so much more easily. We'd never canned fruit this way before, so the peaches were our trial run before dealing with the more difficult pears (which are hard to peel, have rotten spots, hard spots and sometimes worms inside - working with them is never straightforward). The hang-ups we had with the peaches taught us how to manage better with the pears. For example, we learned that our kitchen is not quite equipped to process ten pounds of peaches at one time. We simply do not have pots or bowls (at least, not nonreactive ones) large enough to manage this recipe. We were forced to split it in half, filling three jars, returning them to the canner, then peeling and prepping the rest of the peaches before filling the remaining jars and processing. Not ideal, of course, but there was not much to be done at that point and they seem to have come out fine. When we worked on the pears yesterday, we knew not to double the recipe, which calls for six pounds of fruit, or we would exceed our working capacity.

Since we still have pears distributed in bowls all over our house, I know a few more batches of this are in our future. Hopefully, each one will go even more smoothly than the last!

Peaches in Syrup
From Put 'Em Up.

6 500 mg vitamin C tablets, crushed (I made sure to get very plain, white tablets without any additional ingredients)
3 quarts cold water
4 c ice
10 lbs freestone peaches (you can, of course, use clingstone varieties, but it will mean a lot of extra work and will probably not be pretty in the long run)
6 3/4 c water
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c honey (I realized, as we worked on this recipe, that the honey we used came from the same farm as the peaches - talk about local!)

Clean and prepare six quart jars for processing.

In a large, non-reactive, extremely clean bowl, cooler or sink, add the vitamin C tablets to the cold water, stir to dissolve, and add the ice to create an anti-browning bath for the fruit (I used a large Pyrex mixing bowl and, as I mentioned above, had to do my peaches in two batches).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add peaches, two at a time, blanching for 30-60 seconds, to loosen the skins. Remove the peaches to the anti-browning ice bath. Repeat with remaining peaches.

Cut the peaches in half, remove the pits and peel off the skin (you may be able to do this with your fingers, but some less ripe peaches may require the use of a paring knife to get every bit of skin off), returning each peach half to the ice bath as you finish with it. (If you end up having some smaller pieces, that's fine as well - just include them as well.)

Meanwhile, bring the 6 3/4 c water, sugar and honey to a boil in a non-reactive saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved (you can do this after completing the peaches, as they sit in the anti-browning bath, or have them all going simultaneously).

Pack the peaches into the six hot jars.

Ladle the syrup into each jar, covering the peaches by about 1/2" and leaving 1/2" headspace. Release the air bubbles, screw on the lids and process in a boiling-water canner for 30 minutes. Store in a cool place for up to a year.

Farm Fridays: Heirloom Tomato Salsa

The tomatoes have really started coming in around here, so it's time for some serious canning.

I've found that we go through our canned goods rather slowly - so much so that I have to work at planning recipes that will use them up. For example, we put up fifteen quarts of canned tomatoes last year (plus a few pints), and five of them are still sitting in the basement. Somehow, despite going through applesauce like water the year before, most of last year's supply is still down on the shelf as well. While these things are delicious and useful, strategizing is often necessary to ensure they actually get used. However, there is one canned item that this does not apply to - in fact, I have to strategize about how to keep it  on the shelf. That item, my friends, is salsa.

I absolutely adore this heirloom tomato salsa recipe. I love how vinegary it is, the pretty mixture of colors, and how the assortment of heirlooms used gives each batch a slightly different flavor. Last month, I wrote about my sadness at cracking open the last remaining jar, which I had been jealously hoarding for months. But the time for sadness is past - now it's time to replenish those stores! We've made two batches of this salsa this month, and another one will likely go down this weekend. Since we were making this all the way into October last year, I think we've gotten a pretty good jump on things. This year, I hope to be able to give my salsa away freely and still have plenty to enjoy for my own afternoon snacks!

Heirloom Tomato Salsa
From Put 'Em Up, my go-to canning book. 
(The original recipe says that this makes 7 cups, but I like a thicker salsa, so I usually get about 5 out of it. I didn't cook this particular batch down far enough, so I ended up with 5 1/2.)
 
1 c distilled white vinegar
1/4 c sugar
1 tbsp salt
3 lbs heirloom tomatoes, seeded and diced (skins are fine here - how finely you chop them depends on how chunky you like your salsa)
1/2 lb onions, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
1 c cilantro, chopped

Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a large, nonreactive saucepan and whisk together. Bring to a boil (definitely put your vent fan on - boiling vinegar is hard on the eyes!).

Add the tomatoes, onions and jalapeno. Return to a boil for 15-20 minutes, until the salsa reaches the desired consistency.

Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Ladle into clean, hot half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Farm Fridays: Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Last week I was very sad to see the bottom of the last jar of salsa that we put up last fall. I absolutely adore our homemade salsa and I've been savoring it all winter long. I was saving that last jar for a rainy day, almost afraid to use it, knowing that tomato season was so far off.

(In case you haven't caught on yet, I'm a bit dramatic about food. Obviously, salsa can be purchased at the grocery store in all seasons - but that's not the salsa I crave. I have a small fear of running out of the food I like best. This same fear carries over to traveling - I rarely leave the house without some snacks, in case . . . all the stores and restaurants are closed? I don't know. Suffice to say, breaking the seal on the last remaining salsa jar was a stressful moment for me. Delicious, but stressful.)

Anyway, even though tomato season is just barely kicking off around here, I realized this week that fresh salsa season has totally begun. I got a huge bunch of cilantro from the farm last week and it got me thinking about salsa making. The black beans in my pantry started calling to me. I had never made my own black bean salsa before, but I've had it a few times and really enjoyed it, so I cracked open an old cookbook and found a recipe. This particular recipe didn't require me to go out and buy anything - I had a giant heirloom tomato (the first of this year's harvest!) and some corn from the farm this week, half a red onion in my crisper drawer, and a jalapeno and some bell pepper strips in the freezer from last fall. (The bell pepper strips are really past their flavor prime, but I hate wasting anything, so I decided to use them - this salsa will only be that much better when fresh peppers are in season!)

Salsa is always simple to make - just toss some stuff in a bowl, stir, and set aside while the flavors get to know one another. This particular salsa took a bit more of my time than usual because it makes a TON - the recipe says seven cups, but I think I used more beans than it called for. I was actually a little concerned as I made it, wondering how we were going to use so much salsa. After I tried some, though, all those thoughts went away. I've actually been eating this salsa all afternoon. I've been hard pressed to keep myself away from it. It's totally delicious, pretty as a picture, and makes an excellent healthy snack. Someone just needs to invite me to a barbecue so I have an excuse to make another giant batch!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Adapted from Southern Living: Secrets of the South's Best Barbecue cookbook. 

3 ears corn
1/3 c lime juice (fresh is preferable, but I used bottled juice for this one because all the limes in my refrigerator were already spoken for)
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 c cilantro, chopped
~3 c black beans (I cooked 1 c dried beans and used them all)
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 giant tomato, chopped (about 1-1 1/2 c)
1 c bell pepper, chopped (I used frozen strips of red and green peppers)
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt well, add the corn and cook 3 minutes. Remove to an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice, oil, salt, cumin and red pepper flakes. Stir in chopped cilantro.

Slice the corn kernels off of their cobs and add to the bowl along with the beans, onion, tomato, peppers, and jalapeño. Stir well to combine, tossing with dressing.

Refrigerate for 4-8 hours to allow the flavors to meld. Enjoy!

Cherry Walnut Relish

Oops. I seem to have missed Farm Fridays this week. Yesterday turned out to be quite a busy day when my usual Friday errands turned into an all-out shopping spree. I spent money on a level that I've never reached before (at least, not in a single day!). Slipping into Sur La Table at the mall for a new tea kettle (I sorta melted the top of the old one) meant getting sucked into several stores having awesome sales and dropping into Sephora to replenish my foundation led me into a long conversation with a saleswoman who evaluated my skin and recommended several products that I really should have been using already (somehow in all these years I never learned about primer). And after months of mostly vain searching for shoes that I can wear with my bulky orthopedic inserts, I hit the jackpot, coming home with five new pairs. The gist of all this is that I spent far more time shopping than originally planned, which didn't get me home in time to make all the dinner recipes I'd had planned. And the stuff we did manage was done before I thought to grab my camera.

But I thought I'd make it up to you with a few of the cherry recipes we worked on last week. Last Saturday Terhune Orchards opened for cherry picking! You may remember that I went last year and blogged about how much fun I had. This year Jeff was available to come along and help, so we planned a big day of cherry picking and canning. Cherry picking is so easy, and cherries are so delicious and tempting, that we picked far more than we'd intended - we brought home thirteen pounds of cherries (see the above picture of our dining room table laden with cleaned and sorted fruit). And by the end of the weekend, most of them had been dispatched in a variety of tasty recipes.

We made this cherry-walnut relish, cherry preserves and almond and sweet cherry galette on Saturday and on Sunday, after I'd realized how much we still had (and fearing we wouldn't get through them before they started to go bad), I obsessively searched through my files and the internet to find more possibilities: brandied cherries, individual cherry crisps and roasted cherry brownies (don't worry - those are the subject of my next post!). The crisps and the brownies were frozen for future consumption, so we will be enjoying cherries for several weeks to come.

This cherry walnut relish was the first project that came to mind when we decided to go cherry picking. When I got my copy of Put 'Em Up a few years ago and prepared to start canning, it was one of the first recipes that caught my eye. I jumped at the chance to do it this year. I chose the most luscious and velvety of the cherry varieties we had (while I divided them all into bags and pint boxes to keep the varieties separate, I of course failed to remember the names of the cherries we'd picked) to go with the richness of the spices and nuts. While cherries are a summer fruit, I thought this sounded like a winter treat, to top pork roasts or a turkey sandwich (I have my heart set on a roasted turkey panini with this relish and some Gruyere some time this fall). I was absolutely right -the tang of the vinegar lends complexity to the rich sweetness of the cherries. Even though the walnuts were added all the way at the end, their flavor manages to permeate the relish as well and the bigger pieces add a nice crunchy texture. I look forward to putting this on many winter sandwiches!

Cherry Walnut Relish
From Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton. 

4 c sweet cherries, stems and pits removed
1 c sugar
1 c cider vinegar
1 onion, diced
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 c crushed walnuts

Add the cherries, sugar and a splash of water to a large, nonreactive pot (I prefer my enameled Dutch oven for all canning activities) and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring and crushing the cherries with a potato masher to help them release their juices.

Add the vinegar, onion and cinnamon stick, stir to combine, and return the mixture to a simmer. Cook until thickened (but not dry), about 20 minutes

Add the walnuts and return to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and take out the cinnamon stick.

Spoon into half-pint canning jars, covering the solids with 1/4" of liquid and leaving 1/4" headspace. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. 

Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes

A few weeks ago, when it was still the height of asparagus season (which is not relevant except that this dish was served with some asparagus), we made a bold decision. We decided to make steak for dinner.

I honestly can't remember the last time we made steak. And I'm not talking flank steak tacos or an Asian stir fry - we bought two sirloin steaks to grill and eat. It has literally been years since this happened. Definitely not since we moved into our house in 2009.

Back when we lived in our apartment, when I didn't know I had a cholesterol problem to deal with, when I didn't really know how to cook many things, when I had no conception of what a reasonable portion of meat looked like . . . back then we ate steak a lot. When it came time to plan dinner (often after Jeff got home from work), the question would be "chicken or steak?" ("Chicken," by the way, meant an entire chicken breast for each of us. We were clueless back then.)

I'm actually not a big fan of steak itself - I like the things that get put on steak. I like steak sauce and tasty marinades and rubs. Those are the reasons to have steak, in my opinion. A large hunk of meat without any adornment doesn't really do it for me.

Except this time. I was actually craving steak, and had been through much of our meatless Lent. I have no idea why. Maybe my body needed more protein or something. Whatever the reason, I spent a lot of time drooling over a recipe for steak with red wine sauce from April's Cooking Light. When we finally did it, it was awesome. Just as delicious as it sounded to my meat-deprived imagination.

So why am I telling you about this steak in a post about potatoes? When I decided on a steak dinner, a side of potatoes was an absolute must. And tender asparagus tossed in a vinaigrette. But potatoes came to mind first. We made this unassuming sounding dish from the same Cooking Light - rosemary and garlic roasted potatoes. It was blissfully simple - sprigs of rosemary and thyme tossed with halved fingerling potatoes and unpeeled garlic and roasted in the oven. It made for a gorgeously rustic dish. I loved squeezing the roasted garlic cloves from their skins onto the golden-brown potatoes before I popped them in my mouth.

After eating this meal, my steak craving was satisfied. I haven't had any since and I haven't really thought about it. But I still crave these potatoes. I could eat trays of them on my own. While the steak recipe will languish in my recipe card file, these potatoes are going to become a workhorse in my kitchen, accompanying everything from elegant chicken dishes to vegetarian casseroles and stir fries. And maybe even, after a few more years, another steak.  

Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Slightly adapted from Cooking Light April 2013.

1 head garlic, papery covering removed and cloves separated but not peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
20 oz fingerling potatoes
3 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs rosemary
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 450. Toss garlic, oil, potatoes, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper together in a large bowl, making sure everything is well coated in the oil. Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove from the oven when the potatoes have softened and have turned golden brown.

Farm Fridays: Tangled Collard Greens and Sesame over Rice

I'm trying to get things back on track around here. My stupid, stupid cold is still hanging around. I thought I was over it last weekend, but as soon as I started going about my normal business (especially going to the gym again), things went back a few steps. I've been holding it together well enough to teach, but as soon as I get home from class, I crash. Very little is getting done around here, which is definitely not ideal this particular summer.

But I'm going to try to ignore it and get things done. First thing on the list is to work on my backlog of blog posts. I've managed to upload and edit the pictures I've been taking, so expect to hear more from me soon.

I know my last Farm Fridays post was about collards, too, but I just can't resist them. I love the thick, smooth leaves. This time I went with a more Asian direction, based on a recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy. With a little soy and a little sesame, these unassuming greens are kicked up a notch. This dish is really simple - the first time I had it was for a quick lunch with a few leftover leaves - and really delicious. This time I sized it up a bit - enough for dinner and leftovers. The fresh, thick greens are pleasantly toothy over the soft rice. If you have extra collards in your crisper, this is a great way to use them.

Tangled Collard Greens and Sesame over Rice 
Adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy.

1 c white rice
2 c vegetable stock
1 tbsp sesame oil (regular is fine - I used toasted sesame oil because I have so much of it!)
1 small shallot, minced
1 bunch collard greens (about 8 oz)
splash tamari
splash rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

To cook the rice, bring the stock to a boil. Add rice, reduce to a simmer and cook 15-18 minutes, until liquid is gone and rice is fluffy.

Remove the stems from the collard greens. Stack the leaves and roll into a cylinder, then slice into 1/2" thick ribbons.

Preheat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook 1-2 minutes, until softened

Add the collards to the pan and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4-6 minutes. When the greens are softened, add a splash of tamari, a splash of rice vinegar and sesame seeds. Drizzle with a bit more toasted sesame oil, if desired. Serve over rice.

Farfalle with Broccoli Rabe, Garlic and Almonds

My summer course started yesterday. So, of course, on Monday I woke up with a bit of a sore throat that has developed into an icky summer cold. Yesterday, after lecturing for two hours, I came home to crash on the couch and then sleep for eleven hours. Hopefully I'll be able to shake this thing soon. I'm not exactly at my most productive right now.

I am being productive today by finally posting this delicious recipe I made last week. When I made my usual stop at the farmer's market on Friday, I visited the ladies at the Cedarville Farms stand. Instead of the spinach I'd hoped to get from them, I found little bouquets of broccoli rabe. While I've had broccoli rabe before, I've never cooked with it myself. Always up for the challenge, I bought a bunch assuming I'd fit it into my weekly menu somehow.

I ended up making it for lunch that day, with some leftover farfalle, some garlic scapes from my freezer and toasted sliced almonds. I know I impressed Jeff, who wasn't expecting to come home to such a gourmet-looking dish. It tasted as great as it looked. The broccoli rabe was a bit on the bitter side, but the blanching and the red wine vinegar balanced it out. If it's still available this week, I'll be sure to grab more for another tasty lunch!

Farfalle with Broccoli Rabe, Garlic and Almonds
Loosely adapted from the Broccoli Rabe with Garlic recipe in Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy.

4-5 oz whole wheat farfalle
1 bunch broccoli rabe
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp garlic scapes
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/3 c sliced almonds, toasted


Cook the pasta according to package directions.

In the same pot, blanch the broccoli rabe for about 5 minutes (nearly all of it remained floating at the top of my pot, so it was easy to scoop out with a slotted spoon without disturbing the pasta below).

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for a minute or two, until fragrant. Add the broccoli rabe and stir to coat with the garlicky oil. Drizzle with vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the pasta and almonds to the pan and stir to combine (you may want to reserve some pasta water to add as well, to make it saucier, but I found the water left clinging to the farfalle was sufficient). Enjoy!

Aloo Gobhi

Indian food always seems so mysterious, with its complex flavors and rich mixtures of spices. And some of it can be complex - I have yet to mess around with making my own curry pastes, which has always seemed beyond my expertise (although now that I have an actual spice grinder and won't have to struggle with a mortar and pestle, I might change my tune).

This dish, however, is not complex at all. It's extremely simple and low stress. Just chop a few things, toss your ingredients in the pot and let them go. Minimal watching is involved to make sure the liquid doesn't boil off too soon. Other than that, sit back and wait for your house to fill with lovely spicy smells. (I haven't made this recipe in a while, so I forgot how easy it actually was. I had assumed I was going to be spending a lot of time in the kitchen and, instead, got to spend some extra time on the couch with a book!)

Aloo Gobhi
From Jamie's Food Revolution.

3 tbsp canola oil
small bunch cilantro
1 onion, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, minced
1" fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric (it might be interesting to try fresh turmeric in here some time - I've seen it at Whole Foods, looking just like ginger except yellow-orange under the skin)
1 tsp ground cumin
3 c cauliflower, chopped into florets (I used about half of a medium-sized one - you can include chunks of the stem in this dish, too, if you'd like)
1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lemon

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Pour the oil into a large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Separate the cilantro leaves from the stems and set aside. Mince the stems finely. When the oil is hot, add the onion, chiles, ginger, cilantro stems, mustard seeds, turmeric, and cumin and stir to combine.

Cook 7-10 minutes until the onions are softened. Stir in the cauliflower, potatoes, coconut, salt and pepper.

Add 1 2/3 c water and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and simmer 10-12 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot (you can also add a bit of water here, if you think it needs it). Cover the pot and stick it in the oven for another 20 minutes. Check seasonings and add more if necessary.

Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and a big squeeze of lemon juice. Serve over rice.

Maple Pecan Granola

I present to you one of my favorite things: maple pecan granola.

I'm not a big breakfast girl. I'm not saying I skip it - I'm gunning for food as soon as I wake up in the morning - but I'm content with a nice bowl of cereal. The problem with cereal is that it tends to be super-processed, especially if it's fortified with vitamins and minerals (not bad things in themselves, but I'd prefer to get them naturally). That and a desire for more whole grains inspired me to move to granola. But if you've ever bought a lovely bag of artisanal granola from the grocery store, you know that it can be incredibly expensive.

Enter this recipe from Naturally Ella, which solved all my problems. I've been making this stuff nearly once a week for the past eight or nine months. I never get tired of it. Sometimes I branch out and try different granola recipes, but this is what I always come back to. Just a few simple ingredients, but packed with flavor. It's not clumpy, so it's better as a cereal than for random snacking, but I still grab messy handfuls throughout the day to munch on, which keeps me from munching on less healthy snacks.

I can also throw in a health claim (in case you miss all the propaganda from your cereal box): this granola has been a staple in the diet that brought my cholesterol down forty points over the past year. Yes, that's right - eating a plant-based diet full of vegetables, whole grains and legumes and avoiding animal products can make a huge difference if you're willing to stick to it. The deliciousness of this oat-y, nutty, crunchy granola in a bit of skim milk helps me stick to it every day.

Maple Pecan Granola
Adapted from Naturally Ella.

2 c rolled oats
1 c chopped pecans
1/2 c wheat germ
pinch of salt
optional: 1/3 c shredded coconut (I throw it in if I have it around, like this time)
1/4 c nut oil (I've used peanut, walnut, almond - roasted peanut was my absolute favorite)
1/4 c grade B maple syrup

Preheat oven to 275° F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, pecans, wheat germ, salt and coconut.

Add the oil and syrup and mix until the oat mixture is evenly moistened. Pour onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 1 hour until toasty and brown, stirring every 15 minutes to keep the granola from sticking to the foil. Remove from the oven and cool completely before removing to a sealed container for storage. Enjoy with cold milk, over yogurt or by the handful!

Roasted Sweet Pototoes, Carrots and Turnips

The recipe that I use the most in my kitchen is not a recipe at all. It's more of a formula: chop vegetables, toss with oil and herbs and roast until tender and slightly caramelized. A wide variety of vegetables can be thrown into the mix: winter squashes and potatoes, carrots and onions, turnips and garlic. The herbs vary as well: rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, basil. The mixture depends on my mood, the contents of my pantry, and the accompanying dishes. Roasting is easy, always satisfying, and always at my fingertips for a last-minute dish.

This particular combination is a real winner. The addition of some tiny hakurei turnips to my planned dish of carrots and sweet potatoes provided variety in color and texture, as well as adding a little  zing. The carrots remained firm and lightly sweet through the roasting process, while the sweet potatoes became soft and dissolved into an almost candy-like sweetness. Throw them all together and you have seriously good eats - something appropriate for a Thanksgiving table as well as a Monday night dinner.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Carrots and Turnips

1 1/2 lb sweet potato, cut into 1" chunks (you don't need to peel them - the best nutrition will come off with the skin - but my sweet potato looked a little mangy, so I did this time)
1 lb carrot, cut into 1" chunks
1/2 lb turnip, cut into 1" chunks (I used several small ones, but a large turnip or rutabaga would be fine as well)
1 tsp dried thyme (fresh would be better - I didn't feel like stumbling around my herb garden with a flashlight to find some!)
1/2 tsp dried winter savory
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Combine the sweet potatoes, carrots and turnips in a large bowl. Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and mix to combine (I prefer to toss the mixture with my hands). Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet.

Roast for 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven (my batch took 35), stirring once or twice to keep the vegetables from sticking to the foil. Serve hot!

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Un-Vegan Peanut Butter Glaze

What to do when a hurricane is raging outside? Cook! At least, that's what I chose this morning. To be fair, we were driving up and down I-95 all weekend, so some of these are weekend projects we never got to - I wouldn't normally plan to do all this during a storm. Still, it was a great way to use my time earlier this morning when the storm wasn't so intense. Now I have a new batch of vegetable stock (soup tomorrow), a batch of white beans (dinner today), a loaf of whole wheat bread, another of banana bread, and a batch of granola. I also cleaned and prepped most of the greens that are in my fridge. We're definitely prepared to spend several days holed up at home.

I did not make this recipe today, but I easily could have. It's a wonderful quick cake using ingredients you probably have on hand already. Jeff and I first made the cake a few weeks ago when, half an hour before Monday night football, we decided we wanted dessert. It came together and went into the oven before the game and was ready to eat by halftime. We made it again for a Halloween party on Friday, this time with a peanut butter glaze to give it a little orange-and-black Halloween spirit. Again, the cake was ready in under an hour, and the glaze took seconds to whisk together. If you're looking for a nice dessert to throw together with little mess and no fuss, whether before a football game or in the middle of a hurricane, this is it!

Note: while the cake is vegan, the glaze does have a little milk. You could easily sub in soy milk or almond milk to make it vegan as well.

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Un-Vegan Peanut Butter Glaze
Cake is barely adapted from Joy the Baker. Glaze is adapted from Pixelated Crumb.

cake:
2 1/4 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c warm water
1/2 c + 1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c bittersweet chocolate chips

glaze:
3/4 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp skim milk
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat a 9" bundt pan with cooking spray and dust with cocoa powder.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together water, oil and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips, then spoon the thick batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for ten minutes or so, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.

Once the cake is baked, whisk the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl (you may need to sift the powdered sugar to remove chunks). Pour over the top of the cake, letting it drizzle down the sides. The glaze will harden a bit after a minute or two. Serve and enjoy!

Festive Summer Cabbage Salad

Summer isn't over until you let it be over. As long as you can manage to wear your shorts and flip flops, use your grill and eat dinner outside on the deck, summer is still around.

Even though the calendar says September, summer vegetables haven't dropped off the map. Throwing them together in a salad like this one will keep you in a summery mood for a few more weeks. I put this together when I was inspired to try fresh lima beans from the farmers market. I associate lima beans with icky, mushy frozen vegetable mixes from the grocery store. Fresh ones are much nicer. The texture is firm and pleasantly beany. I'm definitely a convert.

This salad came from my endeavor to find something to do with my lima beans. I decided to make a succotash recipe I found in my Southern Living Farmers Market Cookbook. But that salad was just lima beans and corn, and I had a lot of vegetables in my fridge that wanted to be used. So I threw in a red Hungarian pepper (my favorites!) and a tiny, baseball-sized head of red cabbage. The result was a beautiful mixture of colors and textures - the sort of dish that just makes me smile. (Note: it's best eaten as quickly as possible, because the red cabbage will start turning all of those other pretty colors purple by the next day!)

Festive Summer Cabbage Salad
Adapted from the succotash salad in the Southern Living Farmers Market Cookbook.

1 c fresh lima beans
2 ears corn
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped 
1 red pepper, diced
3 cups red cabbage, chopped (from one tiny head)

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add lima beans and cook 17 minutes. Add corn to the pot and cook another 3 minutes, until corn is heated and beans are tender. Remove the corn, drain the beans and rinse under cold water (to stop the cooking).

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Slice the corn kernels off the cobs and add them to the bowl with the beans, chives, peppers and cabbage. Toss well to combine and coat everything with some dressing. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Farm Fridays: Watermelon Agua Fresca

Another Friday, another CSA pick-up. This week's produce looks suspiciously like last week's, which is not a bad thing in my opinion. (I skipped the flowers today because I was in a hurry and there were no scissors available - I really do need to remember my own scissors next week!) The produce variety is wonderful at this time of year.

The watermelon crop, in particular, seems to have been excellent this year. I love pulling in the driveway and seeing piles of huge melons waiting for me. I'm not a big watermelon person, but Jeff likes it, so I generally try to take a small one so he can manage to eat it in a week. That changed last week when I stumbled on this recipe for watermelon agua fresca. I will worry no more! In fact, I may be trying to take a big one so I can have this lovely drink all week!

The recipe is super simple - just throw everything in a blender and strain. The sourness of the lime sets off the sweetness of the watermelon beautifully. And while I don't always like mint, it really does add a refreshing touch to this drink. Today I had no mint available so I left it out. The drink is still good, but something is definitely missing. Even so, I think this batch will be polished off pretty quickly. I will definitely be bringing this to my next summer barbecue!

Watermelon Agua Fresca
From The Way the Cookie Crumbles.

 8 cups watermelon
6 tbsp lime juice
3-4 springs fresh mint
ice
sparkling water

Toss watermelon, lime juice and mint into a blender and puree. Pour pureed mixture into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Let sit for an hour or so, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has drained.

Toss the solids in the compost and store the liquids in a pitcher. To serve, add ice to a glass, fill halfway with the watermelon mixture and top off with sparkling water. Enjoy!