Local Okra

Hot & Sour Soup and Pot Stickers (Vegan!)

2010-03-22T16:49:00.003-04:00

Hot & sour soup is one of our favorites, but we don't eat it often since we don't have a very good Chinese restaurant close by. I was hesitant to try to make the vegan variety since it typically gets it's flavor from pork. Now, this is not AS good as the pork flavored stuff, but it is really, really good and a lot healthier to boot.

We used this recipe.

Since I don't know what bamboo 'fungus' is, we used bamboo shoots. You can get all of this stuff at an Asian grocery.

The pot stickers are something we've made a lot of. You can fill them with whatever you like, but we love using tofu or mock duck or something like that. Shrimp is also good and obviously pork would be delicious too.

Pot Stickers

Round wonton wrappers
1 block of tofu, diced VERY small
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 thumb of ginger, chopped
1 carrot, grated
half a cup of chopped cilantro
half a cup of green onions
a few drops of sesame oil
a splash of soy sauce

Saute everything except the cilantro and green onions together in a frying pan for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from eat and then add cilantro and onions. Put a small spoonful of the veggie/tofu mixture on top and to one side of a wonton, and then fold the other half over. Seal with a little water.

Once all of your wontons are made, heat a skillet (that has a lid) to medium high, and then add a little splash of olive oil or stir fry tea oil. Once your oil and pan are hot, add as many wontons as you can fit. Cook the wontons on that side until they start to brown a little on the bottoms. Now, carefully add about a quarter cup of water and cover your pan. Let the wontons steam for a minute or two or until they tops are transparent. Remove and eat immediately. These are great served with hoisin, sriracha, or just more soy sauce.

Baked Eggplant Stacks

2010-03-10T15:54:00.004-05:00

Who doesn't love eggplant parmesan? It's one of my favorites, but I've rarely had it when it isn't super greasy and heavy. I wanted to make something similar, but without all that grease and without it taking all night.

Look, I realize that you can fry anything in oil and it will be totally delicious. I understand that, BUT you don't have to do that to get cripsy, tasty eggplant. The only oil used is just a little olive oil on the baking sheet and little more drizzled over the sliced eggplant. Enough to give it some crunch, but not enough for it to soak into the eggplant slices. Perfection.

For the eggplant

1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/2" rounds
1-2 cups bread crumbs
pinch of oregano
salt
pepper
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Season the bread crumbs with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Scramble the eggs together in a shallow and wide bowl. Dredge the eggplant rounds into the egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs. Drizzle a little olive oil on a baking sheet and spread rounds on it. Drizzle the tops with a little more olive oil. Bake for about 8-10 minutes and then turn over and bake until brown and crispy on both sides--about 8-10 more minutes.

Simple Marinara

1 large can crushed tomatoes
6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 and onion, diced
1 teaspoon sugar
black pepper
olive oil

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil until onions start to sweat. Add the canned tomatoes, sugar and black pepper and simmer for 15 minutes.

To serve

Ladle some marinara sauce onto a plate. Top with one eggplant slice. Crumble some goat cheese on top of that and then some fresh basil leaves. Repeat again and then top with a third eggplant slice and finally more marinara.

Breakfast: Shrimp, Grits, and a Fried Egg

2010-03-01T16:24:00.004-05:00

We had some leftover shrimp from the night before, so this was super simple. We just made some cheese grits, reheated the shrimp, fried an egg and served it with some salsa and lots of cilantro. Simple ingredients, but lots of flavor...

Shrimp: half an onion, 2 garlic cloves, crushed red pepper, smoked paprika

Just fill up your bowl with the cheese grits, top with the fried egg and then the shrimp and garnish!

For the fried egg, if you like yours runny, start with high heat and cook the egg on one side until the whites on top are close to solid, but still have a little transparency. Turn the heat down to low and cover and cook for an additional minute or two--until the whites are solid. No need to turn over and risk breaking the yolk!

Winter Squash Stuffed with Quinoa, Walnuts, and Grain Sausage

2010-02-24T14:27:00.004-05:00

We made this a long time ago with the last of our African squash from the garden, but it would be perfect with any winter squash, especially acorn squash. One squash would serve two people.

You could use rice or couscous instead of quinoa if you had those on hand. This could easily be made vegan by omitting the parmesan topping.

Ingredients

1 acorn/carnival/small butternut squash per 2 people

Stuffing:
2 grain sausages, diced (we used Field Roast brand, Smoked Apple Sage)
Several fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, broken up
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups broth (we used veggie broth)
handful of grated parmesan

For the squash:
Cut in half and remove all the seeds and innards. Roast at about 400 degrees until the squash is tender all the way through.

Meanwhile, roast your walnuts in a hot pan that has a lid. When they start to brown, add the diced grain sausage. When that starts to brown, add the sage. Pour in the broth and bring it to a boil and then add your quinoa and cover, lowering the heat. It should be fully cooked in 15-20 minutes.

Stuff your squash halves with the stuffing mixture, add cheese, and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve with a salad or roasted vegetables.

Lasagna with Venison Bolognese

2010-02-22T14:02:00.005-05:00

This is the very first time I ever made a lasagna with meat! I made this for the hubby one night while he was studying for his comprehensive exams for his PhD. He PASSED! Now all he has to do is write a dissertation....no biggie.

Anyway, this recipe is adapted from Gourmet. Theirs calls from pancetta and they used beef chuck--I used venison instead for a lighter and leaner version. I also cut the eggs in half (they used 4!!!) in the ricotta filling.

Ingredients

For bolognese sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 pounds ground venison
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves

For Ricotta filling:
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach,thawed
2 (15-ounce) containers whole-milk ricotta
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup whole milk, divided

For assembling lasagne:
12 lasagna noodles (from 1 box)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Make Sauce: heat oil in a 12-to 14-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Cook onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden and softened, 12 to 15 minutes.
Add venison and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up any lumps, until meat is no longer pink, 6 to 10 minutes.
Stir in wine, milk, tomato paste, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid has evaporated but sauce is still moist, about 1 hour.
Make ricotta filling: put spinach in a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and twist to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
Whisk together ricotta, eggs, parmesan, nutmeg, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Transfer 1 1/2 cups ricotta mixture to another bowl and whisk in 1/4 cup milk; set aside.
Whisk spinach into remaining filling with remaining 1/2 cup milk.
Assemble and bake lasagna: preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
Soak no-boil noodles in a bowl of very warm water until pliable but not softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Place on a kitchen towel (it's not necessary to pat noodles dry) or if using regular noodles, boil until not quite al dente
Spread 1 1/2 cups bolognese sauce in baking pan and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parmesan. Cover with 3 noodles, leaving space in between.
Spread half of spinach filling on top, then 1 cup bolognese sauce, and top with 1 tablespoon parmesan and 3 noodles; repeat.
Top with remaining bolognese sauce, 1 tablespoon parmesan, and remaining 3 noodles. Pour reserved ricotta mixture over top and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan.
Cover pan tightly with foil and bake 50 minutes.
Remove foil and bake until top is browned in spots, about 15 minutes more. Let stand 15 to 30 minutes before cutting.

Serves 8-10

VOTE FOR US!!

2010-02-18T09:54:00.001-05:00

Winter Squash Pizza with Sage Pesto & Feta

2010-01-11T12:37:00.006-05:00

Long time, no post. Sorry about that. I've been busy trying to start a business!!

If you follow this blog, you already know that we love pizza. Well, get ready to start seeing a lot of pizza here. Making your own pizza dough is so simple that we now have pizza about once a week, at least. The best thing about this pizza is that it uses local, seasonal ingredients. Pizza is ridiculously versatile, so be creative!

Simple Pizza Dough

For the sage pesto:

about 20 large sage leaves
4 cloves of garlic
half a cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, etc.
1/4 cup olive oil

Process in a food processor or blender until smooth.

To make the pizza:

Start by dicing some winter squash--we used african squash that we grew in our garden, but butternut, acorn, etc. will work perfectly as well. Roast at 400 degrees until fork-tender. Meanwhile, thinly slice a yellow onion (vidalia is what we used).

Preheat over to 500 degrees and go ahead and heat up your pizza pan or pizza stone. We used to use a pizza stone, but now we prefer just a regular old cookie sheet.

To assemble the pizza:
Roll out your dough on a floured service and then transfer to your pan/pizza stone. You will probably need to put a little dusting of corn meal on your pan or stone so the dough doesn't stick. Now spread the pesto out over the entire dough (you may need to add more oil if it's not easily spreading). Next, add the roasted squash, then the feta, some black pepper, and then some shredded mozzarella. Finally, add the sliced onion.

Cook for about 12-15 minutes or until top begins to brown and bottom is crispy.
Valpolicella would be my wine choice, but Pinot Gris would also be great, if white is your thing.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Red Beet Cream Sauce

2009-11-23T16:07:00.005-05:00

Sounds strange, huh? Yeah, I don't know if this had ever even been done before. We bought a bunch of beets at the local co-op (eat in season!) and after making a delicious roasted beet salad with them, I was inspired to make some kind of pasta dish next. This is how my brain works (how can I pair this with a carbohydrate?) most of the time.

Red beets are something that up until about 2 years ago I thought I didn't like. An actual quote from me: "they taste like dirt". That was until I had them on a veggie plate at The National. I even like the canned ones now! We recently even made a white bean & beet hummus! Local Okra has gone beet crazy.

Red Beet Cream Sauce

2 medium red beets, roasted and diced (I roasted mine whole, wrapped in foil the night before)
1 yellow or white onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
salt & black pepper, to taste

Add the first three ingredients, along with a little olive oil to a deep frying pan and cook on medium-low for about 20 minutes or until the beets start to soften.

Pour in the cream slowly and stir. Once the sauce is hot, remove about half a cup of the cream and add it to a bowl with the flour. Whisk until it forms a paste. Slowly stir the paste back into the sauce pan and bring sauce to a boil. Turn heat to low to let it thicken.

Serve over whole wheat spaghetti and garnish with blue cheese, pine nuts, and basil.

Jambalaya with Venison Sausage & Shrimp

2009-11-19T15:04:00.003-05:00

Jambalaya is surprisingly easy to make. I thought it would be nice to do something besides grill our venison sausage (even though it's so good that way!) and I've always wanted to make jambalaya. A recipe that would make use of our ever-growing okra and tomato crop was also something I had in mind. We were also able to use jalapenos from our garden in place of bell peppers, which are typically used in almost all Cajun recipes. Bell peppers, onions, and celery are used together in Cajun cooking much like mirepoix in French cooking. Alas, we did not grow any bells this year, so we opted for a spicier improvisation.

Jambalaya

4-5 garlic cloves
1 whole onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 jalapeno peppers
1 cup of okra, cut into half inch rounds
8-10 tomatoes, diced
1 large sausage link (something like andouille works best)
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled
2 cups of rice
4-5 cups of broth or stock (I used veggie broth)
paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 bunch chopped green onion, for garnish

First you'll want to take your sausage and cut it up. You can slice it or dice it, whatever your preference. Fry the sausage in your pot with a tiny bit of olive oil for a few minutes to render the fat. Remove that from the pot and add the garlic, onions, celery, and pepper. Cook until the onions start to sweat.

Then add the okra and tomatoes. After a few minutes, pour in the stock and bring to a boil and then add the rice. Season with spices, add the bay leaf and then cover and simmer to cook the rice.

When almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, put the sausage back in and add the shrimp. Wait until they curl up and turn pink and then serve.

Garnish with green onion.

Tomato & Basil Quiche with Whole Wheat Pie Crust

2009-10-27T14:17:00.002-04:00

A few months ago when I made this (I know, I'm seriously behind on blogging), we had so many tomatoes and so much basil that I was literally putting them in/on everything. Nary a sandwich was made without them playing a supporting role. After getting tired of sandwiches, pastas, salads, and pizzas, I really wanted to make something where the flavor of the home-grown tomatoes and basil could take center stage. This quiche was just the thing.

I LOVE this whole wheat pie crust. It's super flaky and buttery without feeling heavy. I also used large curd cottage cheese instead of heavy cream, which cuts down on the fat and give the quiche a great texture. I actually use this trick a lot with casseroles too.

For the Pie Crust

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 egg
1 tablespoon cold water

Combine flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in butter. In a separate small bowl, lightly beat egg, vinegar, and water. Add to dry mixture and knead with hands for a few minutes, until smooth. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle and place in a 10-inch pie plate or dish. Prick with a fork on bottom and sides. Preheat oven to 475 degrees and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven.

For the Filling

4 large eggs
4-5 tomatoes, sliced thin
About a cup of chopped fresh basil leaves
About a cup of chopped green onions
1 cup of cottage cheese (small or large curd are fine)
3/4 cup of shredded sharp cheddar
salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything but the tomatoes thoroughly before folding tomatoes in. Be careful not to stir too much after adding the tomatoes. Save a few tomato slices to place on top of the pie. Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust and top with the remaining tomato slices.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the filling is puffed up and golden brown. Serve with a leafy green salad.

We've been BUSY!

2009-10-12T16:29:00.004-04:00

Well, this is the post where we make excuses about not blogging for a really long time. We were just a little bit busy planning our wedding, tying the knot, and honeymoonin'. Things have finally started to settle down in our world, so we should be back on track in no time.

We will be blogging about the wedding soon. Of course, we had locally grown food at our wedding and lots of locally made beer and wine. We're going to tell you all about that soon enough.

Believe it or not, we actually have been cooking even though we didn't blog about it.

Here's what we've been up to in the last month and a half...

Chicken Marsala

Bean Burritos with Chipotle sauce and Home-Made Salsa

Venison Sausage with Dirty Rice & Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

Here are some of the spoils of our Summer garden:

This one was of the best cocktails we made this Summer....

Watermelon Caipirinhas

Gazpacho with Avocado-Corn Salsa

2009-08-19T20:02:00.006-04:00

Cold soups are perfect in the heat of the Summer. Gazpacho, in particular, is great because you can make it with vegetables from your own garden. There is nothing that compliments the flavor of good, fresh, home-grown vegetables like gazpacho. We've made it with store-bought tomatoes before and it's not even close to the same. You have to make it in season. Make a big batch and you'll be eating (and loving) it for days. This one featured tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and jalapenos from our own garden and was garnished with avocado-corn salsa. This salsa could also stand on it's own as a salad or dip for tortilla chips.

Gazpacho

2 slices day old white bread, cubed (we used about half of a small baguette)

2 1/2 cups chilled water

2 1/4 lbs. fresh tomatoes

1 cucumber

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 fresh green chili, seeded & chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

juice of 1 lime

juice of 1 lemon

a few drops of hot sauce (we used Texas Pete)

salt & black pepper

a handful of basil leaves

Put the bread into a large bowl and pour 2/3 cup of the water over it and leave it to soak for 5 minutes. Place your tomatoes in another bowl and cover with boiling water--leave that for 30 seconds. Drain the water and then peel off the skin. Quarter them and remove the seeds.

Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds. Cut it into a few smaller pieces.

Drain the bread and then put it, along with the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, chili, garlic, olive oil, lemon & lime juice, hot sauce, and 2 cups chilled water into a food processor or blender (a blender would actually be best here) and blend until well combined, but still a little chunky.

Season with salt and pepper and chill for 2-3 hours. To serve, top with avocado-corn salsa, and garnish with fresh basil.

Avocado-Corn Salsa

2 ripe avocados, diced

1 can of corn, drained (fresh would be even better)

1 green chili, finely chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

juice of 1 lime

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Pizza Party!

2009-08-07T15:34:00.007-04:00

So, we've been into pizza lately. REALLY into pizza. We usually just pick up a dough from the best local pizzeria, Transmetropolitan. BUT, since we have some friends who make pizza for us fairly often and make their own dough, we decided that we needed to have a joint pizza party. Fun, right?! We used a bunch of local ingredients (tomatoes, basil, rosemary and FIGS!!) and made two ridiculously delicious pizzas--one that was more savory and one that was a little on the sweet side.

Our good friends Tim and Kate are excellent cooks and we've been impressed by their culinary prowess on many an occasion. Kate is great with dough--the girl makes home-made naan that is out of this world. Here's the recipe she uses, which is an adaptation from "Baking Illustrated":

1/2 cup warm water
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoon) instant yeast
1 1/4 cup water (room temp)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cups of bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Dump the 1/2 cup of warm water and yeast together in a bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It should start to swell a little. Add the room temp water and the oil.In a standing mixer combine the flour and salt with a paddle attachment. Slowly pour in the liquid mixture while it is still going. Sometimes I have to add a little flour to keep it from being too runny. It should be somewhat of a cohesive mass of dough. Replace the paddle with a dough hook and let it go for about 6 minutes. It should be fairly elastic. Sometimes I'll let it go up to 8 min.

After this go ahead and cut the dough into 2 pieces. Lightly oil 2 bowls and put the balls of dough in each, turning them over so they are covered in oil. Cover each with plastic wrap. They will double in about 1 1/2 hours. Sometimes I will turn the oven on warm and put the bowls near it. This will shave off about 45 minutes. Do not cut the dough after it has risen. It will be really difficult to stretch it out if you do. After the dough has doubled take each and roll them on a floured surface. Form them into balls and let them rest with a wet cloth on top of them for about 10 minutes. Then you can roll them out or flip them up in the air whatever works.

The first pizza was what Tore's family has always called "Salt Pizza", because of the salty anchovies. It's ingredients are very simple; home-grown tomatoes and basil are the perfect match for garlic and salty anchovies.

1 can of flat anchovy filets, cut into smaller pieces
4-6 tomatoes, sliced thin
5-7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
a good handful of fresh basil, chopped
olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
black pepper
mozzarella
parmesan

Start by heating the pan you're going to use. You should make pizza at the highest temperature your oven will go or about 500 degrees. Once your pan is good and hot, toss in a pinch of yellow corn meal to keep your dough from sticking. Lay your dough into the pan and then liberally drizzle olive oil over the whole thing. Next add your chopped garlic, then the tomato slices, then the anchovies, then the herbs and black pepper, and then top it with the cheeses.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until it starts to brown.

For the second pizza, we used a local ingredient that's in season right now (FIGS!!) and if you have access to them, you need to make this pizza right away. Do not delay.

20 fresh figs, sliced thin
1 sweet onion, sliced and carmelized
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
4 oz. goat cheese
black pepper
mozzarella

Prepare your pan the same way and then start with the goat cheese. Put it onto the dough in pats and be careful spreading it--you don't have to really spread it, just make sure you can layer on top of it and it covers most of the dough. Next layer on your fig slices, the carmelized onion, and the rosemary and black pepper. Finish with the mozzarella.

Bake for about 10 minutes. Salivate.

(thanks, Kate, for helping with photos too!)

Asian-Inspired Catfish Soup

2009-07-20T21:10:00.004-04:00

I hate to use the term "Asian" since Asia is such a large continent encompassing many countries, but this soup was inspired by the culinary goodness of Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan, so I couldn't really play favorites there. I think that it has more Thai flavors than anything and is really reminiscent of Tom Yum soup, which is my absolute favorite. BUT, then we added udon noodles (Japanese) and Vietnamese cilantro, which may be my new favorite thing!

We caught the catfish we used for the soup in Lake Sinclair the very same day, and I can't think of a better way to enjoy catfish (well, other than deep fried).

Asian Catfish Soup

1 pound of catfish fillets

1-2 thumbs ginger

6-8 garlic cloves

1 large jalapeno chile

1 onion

1 package mushrooms (we already had some buttons, but oyster mushrooms would be great)

3 cups veggie or chicken broth

3 cups water

Soy sauce to taste

3-4 large tomatoes

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

Half a bunch cilantro

Vietnamese cilantro (from a friend's herb garden!)

Half a pound Udon noodles

Cook the chopped garlic, ginger, onion, and jalapeno in the pot until the onions start to become transparent. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes. Add the stock, water, and soy sauce a little at a time until desired saltiness (most store-bought stocks are already very salty, so don't add the soy without trying it first). Now add the fish, the red pepper, lemon, and about half of the cilantro. Bring to a boil. Add the noodles and boil until soft. Garnish with more cilantro.

Summer Veggie Plate

2009-07-13T20:42:00.007-04:00

We've been so excited (well, mostly Tore) about our garden this year. So excited that we couldn't even let the tomatoes get ripe before planning a meal around them. This was my first go at fried green tomatoes, so we were definitely entering uncharted territory. How hard could it be, right?

We served them with french lentils, roasted okra and shallots (we have both green and "white" okra growing in our garden), jalapeño cornbread, and a caper aioli sauce.

Since this is so simple, I don't think a recipe is necessary. I just seasoned some flour and then threw in some shredded parmesan for the breading. Sliced 'em, dredged 'em in some egg and then coated them in the flour mixture before frying in a shallow frying pan--we used peanut oil.

The okra was cut in half long ways and then tossed with the sliced shallots, olive oil, and salt & pepper and roasted in the oven.

For the Caper Aioli:

Half a cup of mayo (we used safflower mayo)

4 garlic gloves

1 tablespoon capers, drained

Pinch of cumin

Half a teaspoon honey

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spoon over fried tomatoes.

Baked Chiles Rellenos & Peruvian-Style Ceviche

2009-06-23T15:02:00.007-04:00

These were both firsts for Local Okra. We have been meaning to make ceviche for a long, long time and we finally did it. It literally could not be easier to make. If you've got time to squeeze some limes, then you can make ceviche. It only needs about 3 hours to marinate before it's ready to eat.

The stuffed poblanos are a little more labor intensive, but still fairly easy to make. The hardest part is getting the skin off the peppers after roasting them. These were really good though and since we baked them, not nearly as bad for you as the deep fried version.

Peruvian-Style Ceviche

1.5 lbs tilapia filets, cubed (next time we will use red snapper for a firmer texture)
juice of 10-12 limes
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 serrano peppers, finely chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients and then cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving. Serve with sliced avocado and tortilla chips.

Chiles Rellenos

3-4 large poblano peppers
1 large can of refried beans
garlic powder
cumin
chili powder
1 cup of fontina cheese, grated
1/2 cup of Mexican crumbling cheese
bread crumbs
1 egg

First cut a slit down the side of each pepper, but do not remove the seeds. Next, roast the peppers in a dry frying pan until mostly browned, turning often. You don't want to cook them so much that they lose their shape. Once all sides are browned, remove them from the pan and place them into a plastic bag and seal tightly.

Meanwhile, mix the cheese and beans, along with garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder to taste, in a large bowl. After 15 minutes, if the peppers are cool, peel off the skins of the peppers. After the skins are removed, pull out the seeds, leaving the stem intact. Stuff each pepper with the bean/cheese mixture. Brush each pepper with the egg and then cover with bread crumbs. Bake in a casserole dish at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve with warm tomato sauce or fresh salsa.

Koldolmar--Swedish Cabbage Rolls with Venison

2009-06-11T16:45:00.004-04:00

We got the recipe for these cabbage rolls out of a Swedish cook book that came from Ikea. Hilarious, right? According to our resident Swede, the recipes in it are all very authentic. These looked so delicious that we made them the first time we had some venison and they were a huge success. Since we didn't document them that time (and because they are SO tasty, of course), we decided to make them again. Our good friend LA was lucky enough to have enjoyed them twice!!!

The filling for the rolls is essentially the same as our venison loaf minus the mushrooms and basil. We also used two small shallots instead of an onion and added about 1/3 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley.

To prepare your cabbage for rolling, cut out the core completely so that the leaves can be easily peeled away without breaking. Put these in some lightly salted, boiling water for about three minutes and then put them into an ice-water bath.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Once the cabbage leaves are cool, drain and dry them. Spoon some of the venison mixture into the thicker end of a cabbage leaf and roll, tucking in any excess at the sides.

The next step is to heat a skillet to medium-high heat and then add olive oil and about 1/4 cup of molasses. When this is good and hot, add the rolls one at a time, seam side down. All you want to do is brown the bottoms so that they caramelize. This will probably take two rounds.

Transfer the rolls to a casserole dish and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, add some stock (any kind you have) to the skillet and scrape up all the little bits left over from the rolls. Add a little heavy cream and you've got a sauce. Half way through the cook time, take the rolls out and cover them with the sauce so that they stay moist.

You might want to cut into one of the rolls after 20 minutes to see if the venison is still pink in the middle. If so, cook for a few more minutes.

Serve with boiled potatoes with fresh dill (grows easily in your garden!). We also had some of Michelle's amazing pickled eggs, which went perfectly with this Swedish feast.

Venison Loaf with Braised Local Kale & Herb-Roasted Potatoes

2009-05-26T13:09:00.004-04:00

Here's the old A + 2B. Meat and two sides. This isn't something we do a lot, but it reminds me of the meals my Mom prepared when I was growing up. Of course, there is quite a bit of ketchup in my mother's meat loaf, but that's just not my style. This venison loaf has white rice, lots of mushrooms, and a whole bunch of garlic--probably way too much for my Mom's taste.

The next day we both ate meat loaf sandwiches for lunch. Believe me--much better than it sounds.

Venison Loaf

1 lb. of ground venison

2 small eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 onion, finely diced

4-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 lb. mushrooms, chopped

1 cup cooked white rice (from 3/4 cup, uncooked)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all ingredients together (cook rice before hand) and form into a loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

Braised Kale

1 bunch kale, cut or torn into pieces

1 large shallot, sliced

olive oil

1/2 cup of stock (chicken, veggie, etc.)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and then add the shallots and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the kale and saute for another minute. Pour in the stock, cover, and simmer at low heat for 5-10 minutes.

Herb-Roasted Potatoes

2-3 lbs. small potatoes (yukon gold or red)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

salt

fresh ground black pepper

Toss the potatoes with the olive oil and herbs and spices and then bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.

F#%@ Yeah!!!!!

2009-05-21T12:26:00.001-04:00

The drool-worthy and hilarious F__k Yeah Cilantro has featured Local Okra!!

Check it out!

Udon Noodles with Broccoli & Pan-Seared Venison Loin

2009-05-19T22:19:00.002-04:00

Our local co-op has started stocking udon noodles in the bulk section, which makes me very happy. They are so delicious in soups or just tossed with a little sesame oil, spices, soy sauce, and whatever veggies you happen to have in the fridge. We typically use tofu or seitan in something like this, but not this time! Right now, we're still reveling in a freezer full of venison.

This particular dinner was inspired by Chinese 'beef with broccoli', as seen on many a Chinese take-out menu. A little of this (bell pepper, onion) and a little of that (dried red pepper, cilantro) and what you end up with is something so much better--and definitely better for you--than you could get at said Chinese take-out place.

Recipe

3/4 lb. udon noodles

1 small venison loin

1 large head of broccoli

1 bell pepper

1 onion

2 dried red peppers

1 handful of chopped cilantro

1 thumb of ginger

4-5 cloves of garlic

soy sauce

sesame oil (1/4 teaspoon)

olive oil

Marinate the venison in soy sauce and the chopped garlic and ginger for a few hours, if possible. Cook the noodles. Meanwhile, saute the broccoli, bell pepper, onion, and crushed red pepper together in a wok with the olive oil, some soy sauce, and the sesame oil. Make sure the broccoli keeps its crisp texture--don't overcook.

Get a frying pan very hot and then cook the venison for just a few minutes, browning on all sides, but leave it a little pink in the middle. Pour the venison and it's juices over the cooked and drained noodles and then mix in the chopped cilantro and vegetables. Garnish with more cilantro.

Taco Night!

2009-05-17T14:37:00.003-04:00

Even though we like to experiment as much as possible, there are always meals that we go back to again and again. This is a simple, delicious, and relatively healthy meal that we have usually once a week. I'm so happy that we both share a great love for Mexican food. We NEVER tire of this one. We could literally eat this every day.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that we are crazy about cilantro. We currently have quite a bit of it growing in the garden. I can't tell you just how satisfying it is to be able just step out the back door and return a minute later with such fresh, crisp cilantro. Having it around is even more encouragement for us to eat this once a week....as if we needed that.

The tacos start with home-made corn tortillas (Tore's job). This is how we like'em:

Pintos

Avocado

Cheese

Shredded Cabbage

Salsa

Cilantro

Serve with seasoned rice (go ahead and throw in a little of that chopped cilantro right before the rice is done). Enjoy with a glass of sangria or a good Mexican beer!

Grilled Venison Burgers & Fresh Cut Salad

2009-05-12T19:42:00.005-04:00

This was the first salad ever made from greens grown on the tiny 50x100 feet plot of land we're happy to call our own. Yup, we've got ourselves quite the urban garden this year, folks.

The greens won't last much longer since the heat is already starting to set it, but it's nice to know that we can grow them so easily. We'll plant some again in the Fall.

I may have started this blog off on the wrong foot as the burger was the true star of this meal. That's probably because they're something we don't have very often except for when we treat ourselves to the amazing burger at Farm 255. Yum!

Honestly, it's a true miracle that we were able to do anything on the day we made these--with our post-wedding hangovers in tow. But, we did have a few fab ladies over to help us out.

Our friend, Laura, had never even eaten venison before! We made some fresh-squeezed lemonade and spent almost the entire day just recovering on the front porch.

For the burgers (this made 7 large burgers)

1 and a half lbs. ground venison

4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

black pepper

1 egg

1/3 cup bread crumbs

We used Masada whole wheat buns--they're a favorite around here. We dressed them with sliced cheese, mayo, dijon mustard, red onion, and tomato. Perfection.

Spring Panzanella

2009-05-03T19:25:00.003-04:00

A panzanella is an Italian bread salad. It's perfect for the Spring and Summer months when fresh vegetables are readily available. This is a great way to use fresh, homegrown tomatoes and herbs from your garden. The simplicity of this salad lets the flavor of each ingredient shine. You can use whatever veggies you like, but for me, it must always have some kind of bean or pea, tomatoes, and fresh basil...along with the bread, of course.

It's best to use bread that's a few days old for this, as older bread will make for sturdier croutons. However, it's not totally necessary. We used some homemade bread that we made fresh. Just let it cool for a while before you attempt to cut it up into cubes.

For the croutons

5-6 cups of bread, cubed

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

half a cup of grated parmesan

1/4 cup olive oil

salt & pepper

Just toss all of these ingredients together to coat well & bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, turning once or twice. Set aside to cool.

For the salad

2 ripe tomatoes, diced

1 can of chick peas

1 small bunch of asparagus (boil for 3 minutes & rinse with very cold water & then cut into inch and a half sections)

1 can/jar of artichoke hearts in water

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup crumbled feta

For the dressing

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

juice from half a lemon

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

black pepper

Ideally, this would be served with a nice, big glass of valpolicella.

I'm Guest Bloggin', y'all!

2009-04-29T10:47:00.004-04:00

Hey, folks! I was in my good friends' Michelle and David's wedding over the weekend.

Check out my guest blog over at A Huckleberry Over My Persimmon! Yay!

Mexican-Style Venison Meatballs with Chipotle Sauce

2009-04-27T20:23:00.005-04:00

That's right, folks. The venison is back! Y'all know we couldn't be happier. This particular meat was given to me by a friend and coworker. The meat came from a deer that was killed in Madison County--about 2o miles away from Athens.

I got a new Mexican cook book last weekend and we've been dying to try some things. This recipe, dubbed "albondigas", really stood out to me because it wasn't the standard Mexican fare that you usually find in cook books. This was really simple to make, but the sauce tastes like it's been cooked all day. We improvised here and there and we added cilantro (luckily, we both have the 'love cilantro' gene), which really sealed the deal for this one. The original recipe was for pork and beef meatballs, so use whatever you have--just try to know where it came from!

For the Meatballs

1 lb ground venison

1 onion finely chopped

1 cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 egg, beaten

oil for frying (we just used a little olive oil)

Mix ingredients well until combined. Form into balls. Fry in a shallow pan, turning often.

For the sauce

1 chipotle chile, seeded

1 onion finely chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

3/4 cup stock (we used chicken stock, but the recipe called for beef)

14 ounce can tomato sauce

7 tablespoons passata (tomato puree)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Soak the dried chile in hot water for fifteen minutes and then seed and chop it. Heat the oil and then add the garlic and onions and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the chile to the pan and fry for another minute. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, and passata. Bring to a boil and then simmer.

Serve the meatballs over rice and cover with the chipotle sauce. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Gnocchi with Parsley Pesto, Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Portobellos

2009-04-23T20:46:00.003-04:00

Parsley, parsley EVERYWHERE! Seriously, like I told my good friend LA last night, if you live in Athens and you need some parsley for a recipe, please just drive over to our house and get it. You don't even need to call first--just come and get it. We have both flat and curly leaf varieties. It's more than we know what to do with...

BUT, we did come up with something that uses quite a bit and we've featured it here before. PESTO! No, you don't have to use basil. You can use mint or oregano or arugula! I love this variation in particular. We made two big batches--one that we used for this meal and then another to keep in the fridge to use for sandwiches.

Of course, keepin' it as local as possible, we used pecans from what seems like a never-ending cache we collected at the end of last year.

As this was a weeknight meal, we used store-bought gnocchi, but I'm dying to make it myself soon. Hopefully that'll be coming soon.

Recipe

1 box gnocchi

3 portobello mushrooms, chopped

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 large zucchini, sliced

parsley pesto

Once you have the pesto made, this is a cinch. Just saute the mushrooms and zucchini, boil the gnocchi until it floats, and mix it all together with the fresh tomato. Any veggies could be substituted. In particular, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach would all be great.

Also, we recently purchased an artichoke to snack on and I wanted to share an easy dip that I made for it that you can use in place of the butter dip that most people serve with artichokes.

Steam the artichoke until tender, about 25 minutes depending on the size.

For the dip, just mix half a cup of mayo (we use Safflower mayo) or vegenaise with a tablespoon of yellow curry powder and the juice of half a lemon. Refrigerate to set. I also used this on a sandwich the next day and it was delightful!

Not-Your-Mama's Vegetable Soup with Rosemary & Garlic Scones

2009-04-20T20:15:00.006-04:00

I was in such a hurry to make--and eat--this that I forgot to document it all the way through. I didn't even get a shot of this plated (gasp!). This soup alone deserves it's own post, but you'll have to make due with what little I have to offer in terms of photos today.

On rainy, cold, or gloomy days I daydream of soup. Soup, itself, has so many qualities that I admire. It's patient; the best soups take time--they can't be hurried. It's forgiving; nothing is final with soup. If it doesn't taste exactly right, you just need to add a little something here and there until it suits you. It's versatile; you can make soup out of just about anything. In my kitchen, a lot of really good soups start out with whatever I happen to have in the cabinet/refrigerator that day. Most of all I love soup because of its "soul-warming" nature. If you're sick, it's soup that makes you feel better. If you're cold, it warms you right up. This one was no exception. Pair it with rosemary & garlic scones right out of the oven and then cuddle up stay in for the night.

Not-Your-Mama's Vegetable Soup

1 bunch kale, torn into small pieces

2-3 yukon gold potatoes, diced

1 large yellow crook-neck squash, sliced

1 can cannellini beans, drained

1 large carton "no chicken" broth

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 14.5 oz. can Muir Glen fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with liquid

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 crushed red pepper flakes

salt & black pepper to taste

water

Cover the diced potatoes and the kale with water and boil until potatoes are almost fork tender. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Rosemary & Garlic Scones (these are basically biscuits, y'all)

2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup milk

1 egg beaten, to glaze

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Sift flour, salt, garlic powder, and baking powder into a bowl. Stir in the rosemary, and then rub in the butter. Add the milk and mix to form a soft dough. You can knead this dough and then roll it out, but I just made them in a buttered muffin pan. I don't love kneading bread, but if that's your thing, go right ahead. It's totally unnecessary with these. Brush them with the beaten egg and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until they've risen and are golden brown.

Georgia Shrimp with Grits and Greens

2009-04-06T21:42:00.005-04:00

Yup, grits AND greens. How southern can you get?

This was so simple and so delicious. All three ingredients can easily stand on their own, but they also compliment each other incredibly well. I knew this would be good, but I was pleasantly surprised at just HOW GOOD!

I'm happy to say that these were wild-caught Georgia shrimp. The collards were local too, and Mill's Farm 'Red Mule' grits are from right here in Athens. They're our favorite.

For the greens:

1 bunch collard greens, cut

1 large yellow onion

1 carton organic 'no chicken' broth

water to cover, if needed

black pepper

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoons sugar

(a little texas pete, if you're into that kind of thing)

Put all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 8 hours.

For the grits:

You should know how to make grits! Start with less water than it says and then add more, if needed, as it cooks. Add some shredded white cheddar.

For the shrimp:

1/2 pound large shrimp

2 small shallots, sliced

2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

1 lemon

Old Bay (or any other Creole seasoning)

Peel'em! Get a frying pan good and hot and then add some olive oil and a dab of butter. Toss in the shrimp, along with the shallots, garlic, and lots of Old Bay. Cook for just a minute or two and then hit'em with the lemon juice.

To serve, plate the greens first (be sure to drain them well), and then add the grits on top, and finally the shrimp. Eat up!

Spaghetti with Pork Sausage Meatballs

2009-03-29T21:13:00.004-04:00

This was the second time we used some local, breakfast-style, pork sausage to make meatballs. Soon, we will be out of the sausage we've had in our freezer since the Fall, so look forward to a lot more vegetarian recipes in the near future.

So, for all of you carnivores out there, don't forget that "breakfast sausage" is versatile and not just for patties that go on your biscuit. We've used it on pizza, in casseroles, in split pea soup, and lots of other goodies. It's all about dressing it up with the right herbs and seasonings...

Spaghetti with Pork Sausage Meatballs

For the meatballs:

1 lb. pork sausage

1 egg

fennel seed, dried oregano, and dried basil to taste

3/4 cup bread crumbs

olive oil

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl and form into meatballs about 1 to 1 and half inches in diameter. Cook in a shallow frying pan (with a little olive oil) on medium heat, turning often, until cooked through.

For the sauce:

1 large can crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen is my favorite!)

6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 lb. mushrooms, chopped and sauteed

about a handful of chopped fresh basil

black pepper

olive oil

Saute the garlic in a little olive oil until it sweats. Add the tomatoes, basil, and black pepper and simmer. Toss the cooked mushrooms in right at the end. If you aren't using organic tomatoes, I suggest you also add about a teaspoon of sugar to your sauce.

Serve with organic whole wheat spaghetti, al dente. Top with grated parmesan. Swoon.

So, how do we look in white?

2009-03-29T20:42:00.008-04:00

I've been frustrated with only being able to post tiny photos here, so I tried like heck to figure out how to just edit the template I was using before (loved it!), but I failed in doing so.

Instead, we're trying this one on for a while. I don't love the bright white, but I do love being able to post larger photos like these:

A Few Things Worth Sharing...

2009-03-02T17:57:00.004-05:00

We've been trying some new things around here and, although I haven't really fully documented the preparation, I did snap a few finished product shots here and there.

I really, really, really love to use my slow cooker. You may call it a crock pot (my Mom always has), but something about that name has always turned me off. Maybe because the work 'crock' seems rather offensive and negative to me. Either way, the slow cooker is such a useful kitchen tool because it does all the work for you. I use mine for dried beans, chili, soup, you name it, but I had never tried something like stuff peppers before. I saw a similar recipe for slow-cooked red peppers, stuffed with couscous, but I thought I'd try quinoa instead. I also went with organic green peppers (capsicum) because they were available at my local co-op. You can leave out the feta or use a vegan substitute to make this vegan.

Slow-cooked Stuffed Bell Peppers with Cannellini Beans & Quinoa

4 large bell peppers

half a cup quinoa

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 can cannellini beans or about 15 ounces cooked dried beans

6-8 mushrooms, chopped

half of a large onion, diced

2-3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt & pepper

1/8 to 1/4 cup veggie broth (or water)

Cut off the top and stem of the peppers and remove the seeds and ribs. If your peppers don't stand on their own, you may want to slice a little off the bottom, so they're flat and will stand up on their own.

In a bowl, mix all the other ingredients and then stuff very generously into each pepper. Stand stuffed peppers up in slow cooker and cook on low for about 5 hours.

Another meal we've been wanting to try is something that we love at our favorite local Thai restaurant....Masaman curry tofu. This was a HUGE success, so now we have the much cheaper option to make it at home. All of the ingredients for this meal were purchased at two small grocers that we like to patronize in support of small businesses instead of massive grocery store chains (well, that and because we probably couldn't even find the Masaman paste anywhere else!). Shout out to Fooks Foods and the Supermercado Jalisco!

Vegan Masaman Curry Tofu (this is enough to generously feed 4 healthy eaters)

2 bricks of tofu

1 avocado

1 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts (most recipes use cashews, but we didn't have any)

half a bunch of green onions

1 14 oz. can coconut milk

1 4 oz. can Masaman curry paste

soy sauce

3 garlic cloves

1 thumb fresh ginger

2 cups jasmine rice

First cube and cook your tofu with some soy sauce and then refrigerate (this will give the tofu a better texture). In a sauce pan, cook the chopped garlic and ginger with a little olive oil and then add the Masaman paste. After a few minutes the paste will start to liquify. Add the coconut milk and then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce thicken. Add the cooked tofu to the sauce and then add the nuts and avocado at the very end (you don't need to cook these). Serve over rice and garnish with green onion.

Here's a little snack we've been fond of lately. So simple, but really delicious. Take some dried dates and split open to removed the pit and then stuff with really sharp cheddar. You can take this even further by also putting half a pecan in there and then drizzling with a balsamic vinegar reduction!!

Happy cooking!!

A Local Okra Valentine's Dinner

2009-02-17T19:59:00.004-05:00

Sorry we've been so slack lately with posting. It's not for a lack of delicious meals though, I can assure you. We've been a little busy around here with all sorts of things, one which happens to be planning a wedding! We've also had the pleasure of dining with friends quite frequently, which is always fun. Thanks Michelle & David and Lauren & Shil!

Tore and I have a tradition to stay in on Valentine's night. Right from the beginning we loved to cook together, so what better way to celebrate Cupid's commercial holiday! We typically like to do hors d'oeuvres or tapas, small plates, whatever you like to call it. This dinner was no exception. We planned the meal around making one of our favorite dishes...gravlax. Basically, it's Scandinavian cured salmon with lots of dill. It's ridiculously easy to make, but it takes several days to cure.

Gravlax with boiled egg and mustard-dill sauce

No-knead bread

Parsley pesto-stuffed cremini mushrooms with grape tomatoes

Picholine olives marinated with olive oil, pink grapefruit and fresh marjoram

Aged Vermont cheddar

Camembert

So, we obviously didn't make that cheese or get it locally, nor did we catch the salmon from a local stream. BUT, we made the gravlax ourselves with wild-caught salmon instead of just buying it in the tiny little package at the grocery store. If you like smoked salmon, you'll love gravlax, so try this out. It tastes a billion times better and you definitely get more bang for your buck.

To make the gravlax:

Cut a large salmon filet in half

Rub (very generously!) both sides with a mixture of equal parts salt & sugar

Add black pepper to taste

Put the two pieces on top of one another so that the flesh sides are touching with a large bunch of dill between them

Cover tightly with foil

Place a brick, a heavy casserole dish, etc. on top of the foil and refrigerate for 3 days

You will want to pull it out and drain the liquid after the second day.

To serve, just slice very thin pieces off the skin & discard.

Mustard-Dill Sauce

4 tablespoons plain yellow mustard

1 bunch of dill

juice of one large lemon

2-3 tablespoons honey

3 -4 tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper

This sauce could also be used for a salad dressing--just add some white wine vinegar.

Sunday Brunch: Sausage & Spinach Frittata

2009-01-12T13:49:00.006-05:00

I love making frittatas--almost as much as I love eating them. This was my first non-vegetarian frittata. I usually make them with potatoes, but I've been known to just use whatever I have in the fridge. This past Summer I made one with an eggplant that we grew in our garden and some local okra from the farmer's market! For this one, we had a lot of local ingredients: ground pork sausage from Full Moon Farm, bread from Luna Bakery, local eggs, and parsley from our very own garden.

If you've ever been hesitant to try to make a frittata because it seems complicated, I hope this post/recipe changes your mind. They can seem time consuming (especially when you wake up hungry like we do!), but they really are pretty easy to make.

Sausage & Spinach Frittata with Red Onions and Parsley

5 eggs

1/4 lb. pork sausage (you can easily substitute Morning Star sausage crumbles)

half of a large red onion

2 big handfuls of fresh spinach

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, cream, or milk

1/4 lb. cheddar cheese (or just use what you have)

salt & pepper

1 large garlic glove

1 extra large slice of country bread (you can use whatever bread you have. if using sliced bread, use two pieces)

olive oil

Start by dicing the onions and chopping the garlic and parsley; and then cut the bread into cubes. Next, brown the sausage.

Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and place on a paper towel to remove excess fat. Add the red onions to the remaining pork fat in the pan. Cook until they start to become transparent and then add the spinach and cook for a few minutes until wilted. Remove from heat.

In another pan that can be put into the oven (I use a cast-iron skillet), heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil and then add the garlic and bread cubes. Cook these over medium heat until crispy on all sides, but not too brown.

Preheat the over to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together with 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese (you can use cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, etc.), salt, and pepper.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sausage, veggies, chopped parsley, and shredded cheese. When thoroughly mixed, add in the eggs.

In the same pan you used for the bread, add about a tablespoon of olive oil to coat the bottom--any garlic or bread remnants in the pan are completely welcome. Heat on medium heat until oil is good and hot. While it's heating, stir the bread cubes into the egg/veggie/sausage mixture. Then pour the mixture into the hot pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until a thin crust forms around the sides.

Now, put it in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on the depth of your pan. Check it after 10 minutes. Just stick a toothpick in the middle--it's done when the toothpick comes out clean.

After letting it cool for a few minutes, invert it onto a cutting board and slice into wedges to serve. We like to save the leftovers and serve them later in the day with a cup of soup or a small salad.

French Onion Soup with Home-made Country Bread!

2009-01-07T13:28:00.008-05:00

We have been wanting to make our own bread for a long time, but the one and only time we tried, we ended up with 'flat bread'. It was tasty, but as you probably guessed, it didn't really rise.

Recently, we were introduced to a recipe for a 'no-knead' bread, so we thought we'd give it a shot. Big ups to Shane for the passing along the recipe and giving some helpful tips. See the recipe here.

The following modifications were made to the recipe, copied directly from Shane:

1) Use 1 cup of whole flour and two cups of unbleached white.

2) Put the water in the fridge for a few minutes, then do the mixing in a food processor with a metal blade before resting and rising the dough.

You can also make baguettes, which we will try next time once we get a pizza stone:

Cut the risen dough in half and form it into baguettes, & bake at 450 on a pizza stone for 22 minutes.

It really was easy, but you must realize that the most important thing is giving it time to do what it has to do. The only other problem is that it can get messy, as you can see here:

Recently we made some venison stock from some bones left over from a couple of roasts that we had. Since French onion soup usually calls for beef stock, I thought the venison stock would make for a very interesting variation. I used a recipe from a cook book that I have, but changed a few things along the way. The key to this soup is slow cooking the onions. Keep in mind that this isn't something that can be made quickly.

French Onion Soup with Venison stock and Beer

1 tablespoon olive oil

half a stick of butter

5-6 yellow onions

2 cloves garlic

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon sherry

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2/3 cup good beer, not a stout or porter (we used Sammy Smith's Winter Welcome!)

6-8 cups venison broth

salt

black pepper

Halve and slice the onions, finely chop the garlic, and remove the thyme leaves from the stems. Add the olive oil to a large heavy pot and then the butter. When the butter has melted, add the onions and garlic. Cook over medium heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the onions begin to soften and then stir in the thyme.

Reduce the heat to very low and then cover and cook the onions for another 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are very soft and golden yellow.

Uncover the pot and increase the heat slightly. Stir in the sugar and cook for 5-10 more minutes until they start to brown. Add the sherry and increase the heat again and continue cooking, still stirring frequently, until the onions turn a deep, golden brown--this could take up to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, put your stock in another pot and bring it to a boil.

Stir the flour into the onions and cook for about 2 minutes, making a roux. Gradually and slowly pour in the stock. Now add the beer, salt, and black pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve with crostini. Slice country bread and cover with grated parmesan cheese and bake until cheese is melted and bread is crispy.

Free-Style Baby Turnip, Potato & Pork Sausage Casserole

2008-12-22T19:53:00.007-05:00

I like the name of this one. Basically, we found some local baby turnips at the co-op and bought them even though we had no plans for them and Tore remembered hating them as a child. They sat in the fridge for a few days before we remembered we had them; and I had the job of planning a supper around them.

We had most of the ingredients we used on hand. I took some inspiration from a few other recipes, but this one is a Local Okra free-stylin' recipe that I can safely say had not been done before. Believe it or not, it was a huge success. Try it, and see for yourselves! All ingredients are organic and the sausage is from Full Moon Farm here in Athens.

Recipe

(this one is pretty loose, guys--that's the point!)

a dozen or so baby turnips

3 or 4 yukon gold potatoes

about half a pint of cherry tomatoes

2 small shallots or 1 large

6 garlic cloves

half a pound of ground pork sausage

half a cup of bread crumbs

1 1/2 cups 'no-chicken' broth

about 3 tablespoons fancy whole grain mustard (we like Inglehoffer brand)

cheese of your choice (we had some Stilton left over that we used, so blue cheese would be great)

So, this was an experiment. I would encourage anyone who enjoys cooking as much as we do to this as often as possible. Sure, you will have miserable failures here and there, but when you really get it right, it can be so rewarding.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Start by dicing and boiling your potatoes and turnips in water. You won't have to boil the turnips for as long as the potatoes, so just add those in after the potatoes have been going for a few minutes. You just want to cook until fork-tender. Meanwhile, chop the garlic and slice the shallots very thin.

Add these, along with the broth, to a casserole dish.

Take the sausage and add the bread crumbs and knead together. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls. Drain the root veggies and carefully add them to the casserole dish. Now add the mustard and stir to combine as much as possible. Place the meatballs evenly and then bake until the sausage balls are almost cooked through.

The last step is to add the tomatoes and cheese. Add in the tomatoes and stir around a bit to distribute. Then top with cheese--as much or as little as you want. Bake until cheese is melted. Bon appetit!

Slow-cooked Venison & Red Wine Stew

2008-12-11T14:57:00.005-05:00

Venison! With the first mention of it to just about anyone, you will no doubt hear the words 'gamey' or 'lean' used over and over. When marinated properly, venison is a delicious and healthy local and organic meat option. It doesn't really get much better for Local Okra. We have used it to make all kinds of wonderful concoctions from the traditional southern country-fried cube steak to garlic, ginger, and sesame marinated baked tenderloin. We even used it in a traditional Swedish dish called koldolmar--cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and ground meat.

This stew is a throwback to the slow-cooked beef stew my Mom makes. It's pretty simple. You put your meat roast in the slow cooker, add some liquids and spices, let it cook for a few hours and then add your veggies. This is an easy week night meal that can feed the whole family. Well, unless your family eats like Tore!

The red wine is crucial in this recipe because the flavor helps to cut the gaminess and the acid helps to tenderize the venison. We used Malbec, but you can use any full-bodied dry red wine.

Recipe (all ingredients are organic):

1 venison roast
4-5 yukon gold potatoes
4 carrots
20-30 mixed mushrooms
1 large yellow onion
8-10 cloves of garlic
veggie 'no-chicken' broth, 2 cups or more
1 cup dry red wine
soy sauce, 3-4 tablespoons
fresh rosemary (we have two bushes in our yard)
1 bay leaf (this one was local and free at the Co-Op!)
Crushed red pepper--we used cayennes from this Summer
black pepper
4-5 tablespoons flour

Start by cleaning the roast and cutting it into bite size pieces. Put it in a crock pot/slow cooker and add the wine and enough of the stock to cover it completely. Add the soy sauce, some black pepper, and about half of the garlic. Cook the meat on high for about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, chop all the veggies and refrigerate until you're ready to add them. After two hours, add the veggies, herbs & spices, and the remaining broth.

If you don't have enough broth to cover the veggies, add a little water. Keep in mind the veggies will cook down and add more liquid to the pot. Let cook on high until veggies are fork-tender. Remove some of the broth and whisk it into a separate bowl with the flour to make a paste. Whisk until smooth and then stir into the stew. Turn your crock pot off at this point and let the stew thicken. Serve with crusty bread and more of the red wine!

Brew Night: Coffee Stout

2008-12-09T21:50:00.010-05:00

Since Local Okra is dedicated to all things local, sustainable, and delicious, what's more appropriate than a tasty batch of home-made beer? With that in mind, this post will kick off the homebrewing section of Local Okra - with hopefully many more to come.

We've been brewing our own ales and lagers for about a year now - tonight will be either the 10th or 11th batch. We've made everything ranging from scotch ale to hefeweizen to pilsner to a belgian saison - and all have been extremely delicious.

Tonight, we got a coffee stout started, which should have an alcohol content of around 8%. This is the kind of beer that will wake you up, put hair on your knuckles, and then slap you across the face. So how do you go about making this tasty beer, you ask? Let's go through a somewhat simplified account of what goes into a batch of homebrew.

The very first step of brewing is to make what's called the "grain tea." It's in fact quite similar to making a pot of tea, but instead of tea leaves I'm using a few pounds of crushed grains to add flavor and color to the beer.

So, first, I filled my brew-pot with about three and a half gallons of cold tap water.

Then I heated it to 155 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point, I cut off the heat, placed my grains in a porous mueslin sack, and added it to the hot water, letting it steep for about half an hour.

Then I removed the grain bag, and brought this dark and delicious concoction to a boil. Now it's time to add the malted barley - the sweet stuff that will later become the alcohol in the beer. To this batch, I added about five pounds of liquid extract and three pounds of dry extract, getting us to a total of eight - this is what gives us our final ABV of 8%.

The grain tea now becomes a hot and sweet mixture that we call "wort." I bring this wort to a boil, and add the bittering hops.

The wort will boil for sixty minutes, and during this period you usually add more hops at different stages - but this coffee stout only calls for the first round of bittering hops, so I just let it boil for the full hour.

The next step is to cool the wort, so that we can add the yeast. Most ale yeasts are comfortable working in the range of 60 to 80 degrees F. So after the hour boil has completed, I cut off the heat and place the brew-pot on ice. The wort needs to be chilled to about ninety degrees.

When the wort is cool enough, I add it to the fermentation bucket. This is a plastic bucket with an air-tight lid and an air-lock to let carbon dioxide out. When poured into the bucket, we've got about four gallons of beer. To get to the magic number of five gallons (the standard homebrew batch size), I add another gallon of cold spring water. The cold water also helps bring down the temperature to about seventy degrees.

At this point, it's time to add the yeast. I used a Wyeast London Ale liquid yeast. After stirring vigorously to aerate the beer, I snap the lid on, and put in the airlock.

The bucket then goes into a dark corner with a constant temperature of about 70 degrees. Tonight's work is done! The beer will sit in this fermenter for about a week, where the yeast will eat the sugars in the beer, and create the by-products of alcohol and carbon dioxide. The CO2 escapes out the airlock, but the alcohol stays in the beer.

Whoo! We're officially on the way to making a coffee stout (the coffee is actually added much later in the process, right before bottling). Check back for more updates!

Shout-out to Levi and Full Moon Farm

2008-12-07T21:07:00.006-05:00

This morning for breakfast, we had some local pork sausage from Full Moon Farm, thanks to our good friend Levi. It was the first sausage we've had in years and it was well worth the wait.

Thanks!!!

Please see our links for info on Full Moon Cooperative Farm.

Here's what they're about:

We farm with intention and sensibility.
We farm to improve ecology through wise economy.
We farm to improve our land and preserve its agricultural value for future generations.
We farm with respect for the safety of our workers, our customers, and ourselves.
We farm to protect the environment we all depend on.
We farm because we love to farm.

Fried Local Catfish Tacos, Baja-Style

2008-12-07T19:22:00.003-05:00

We did something here at Local Okra that we don't often do--we deep fried. And it was glorious.

It's a well-known fact that the best way to eat catfish is southern fried, so that's just what we did. We are fortunate to have Lake Sinclair (middle GA for those of you not in the know) catfish, crappie, and/or bass in our freezer pretty often. My Mom and Dad spend so much time at their lake house in Putnam county that they even get their mail there now, so you can imagine how much fishing they get to do. My sweetheart of a dad always cleans any fish Tore and I are lucky enough to catch before we go home, along with whatever they have in the basket. So, you get the idea--these fish are pretty damn local.

My favorite fish tacos are the ones you can get just about anywhere in southern California. This recipe is kind of my take on the first fish taco I ever had. What ties it all together is the Baja-style version of tartar sauce (I even made a special version for Michelle, minus cilantro), which goes perfectly with fried catfish. You also can't forget the cabbage, red onion, or the avocado. You can use pre-made corn tortillas for these, but why would you when you can make your own so easily? Tore started making them after spending a few weeks in Tepoztlan, Morelos, MX and since then, we eat them exclusively. They are that much better.

We served these with rice and fried plantains.....and lots of mexican beer (thanks David & Michelle!).

Recipe

For the catfish:

catfish filets (1 large or two small per taco)

salt

pepper

garlic--2 cloves, finely chopped

coriander seeds, crushed

olive oil

2 cups flour

1 cup yellow corn meal

canola oil

1 lemon

We marinated the catfish filets for several hours with a little olive oil, crushed coriander seed, fresh garlic, salt, and pepper. To begin, heat the canola oil in a large frying pot. In a deep mixing bowl, combine the flour and corn meal. Dredge the filets in this mixture and set aside until you're ready to fry. Fry until golden brown, about 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the filet. Make sure to wait until your oil is good and hot. As you pull the filets out, hit them with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Keep finished fish in a warm oven.

For the sauce:

2 garlic cloves

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayo (we used organic safflower mayo)

2 large jalapeno peppers

juice of one lime

pinch of cumin

pinch of chili powder

salt

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender until thoroughly combined and then refrigerate until ready to use.

For the tortillas:

2 cups corn masa (we used Maseca brand)

1 1/2 cups water

pinch salt

Knead mixture until you have the consistency of dough. Divide into 16 pieces and then use a tortilla press to press each piece. Carefully transfer to a flat pan (on high temp) and cook 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side. As tortillas are done, put them in a dish and cover with a cloth to keep warm.

For the plantains:

two plantains

cilantro

salt

canola oil

Slice plantains about half an inch thick. We deep fried them in the same oil we used for the fish, but you can pan fry them with a lot less oil as well. Fry for about 10 minutes and salt immediately after taking them out. Cover with chopped cilantro.

The white basmati rice was cooked in a rice cooker with veggie 'no-chicken' broth and some turmeric, paprika, and cumin. Nothin' fancy there.

We enjoyed this meal and a few hilarious games of Uno with our good friends Michelle and David. Michelle brought a ridiculously delicious pumpkin pie as well. AND, Daisy finally got a kiss!

Parsley Pesto Spaghetti with Grain Sausage

2008-12-03T22:11:00.005-05:00

The idea tonight was to make dinner for Tore while he was in class talking about Vidalia onions. I knew I wanted to make some pesto with the parsley still growing in our garden, so I picked up a few items at the Daily Co-op after work and put this together. All ingredients are organic and the pesto is almost completely local--the pecans were collected from our back porch just hours before preparation.

Here's the recipe (I must say this was exceptionally delicious):

1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti

1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms (Pennsylvania)

1/2 a pint of grape tomatoes (Florida)

1 medium zucchini (Florida)

2 apple sage flavored grain sausages (vegan faux-sages made by Field Roast Grain Meat Co.)

salt

black pepper

For the pesto:

7 large garlic cloves (locally grown)

1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley (VERY locally grown)

about 20 pecans (also VERY locally grown)

4 oz. of shredded parmesan cheese (Wisconsin)

olive oil

To start, I had to crack the pecans using our lovely Swedish nutcracker sent to Tore from Hörby, Sweden by his grandmother for Christmas last year. It has really come in handy with our abundance of pecans.

I had to use a flashlight to go out and get the parsley, and my biggest fear was stepping in dog poop while on this mission. Luckily, I came back unsoiled.

In a food processor, I put in the parsley, the peeled garlic cloves, the parmesan, and the shelled pecans. Pulse that for a few seconds and then slowly add olive oil until it's the right consistency--sometimes I add a little water if it seems too thick.

Meanwhile, I boiled a pot of water for the noodles, chopped the veggies (sliced the mushrooms, cut the tomatoes in half, and made matchsticks of the zucchini), and cut up the faux-sage. I cooked the mushrooms in some olive oil by themselves for a few minutes before adding the faux-sage--add salt and pepper at this point.

Right before the noodles were ready, I added the zucchini matchsticks to my mushrooms and faux-sage for about a minute or two and then at the last minute added the grape tomatoes--you just want to warm those up, but not really cook them.

All that's left is to drain the noodles and then return them to the pot, add in the pesto and faux-sage & veggies and you're ready to eat.

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato & Bell Pepper Soup

2008-11-29T23:53:00.009-05:00

To kick things off we started with a good seasonal soup. We picked up some sweet potatoes and green bell peppers at the local co-op, so that was the inspiration. Add to that a crusty baguette from a local bread maker and you've got dinner. This was simple and relatively quick for soup, but tasted so fresh and delicious.

Recipe (vegan!):

4 sweet potatoes

3 green bell peppers

1 and 1/2 whole heads of garlic

3 to 4 cups organic 'no-chicken' veggie broth

1 cup water (if necessary)

1 can organic light coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon curry powder

crushed red pepper flakes (we used three dried whole cayennes)

thai basil leaves

salt & pepper

Peel the sweet potatoes and dice. Core and slice the bell peppers. Remove peel from garlic. Toss all with olive oil and spread out in one layer in a roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees until potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes depending on your oven).

Let cool after removing. Transfer veggies to a food processor and process until smooth--you may need to add a little water. Transfer mixture to soup pot and add the remaining ingredients, reserving a few basil leaves as garnish. Bring soup to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

We also enjoyed one of Tore's home-brewed ESBs (Extra Special Bitter). More on that later...

Welcome to Local Okra!

2008-11-29T18:31:00.004-05:00

Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping by. I have been wanting to do a food photography blog for a long time and I finally have the motivation to do it. I always thought it would need a theme or have something interesting to say and not just be a bunch of "food porn." It was Tore who inspired the idea behind Local Okra.

For the past several years Tore and I have been vegetarians (3 years for me and 6 for him). Well, we actually ate seafood here and there as well, but no meat whatsoever. We have always tried to cook/eat what's healthy for us and the world in general, but very recently our food philosophy has changed to include local, organic and sustainable meat. So check back here for recipes, photos, and philosophical rambling.

-Kelli