Garlic Scapes and Daddy

Ive been away awhile, I know. First I was sick with shingles and could barely walk for two months, then my dad passed away and I was home helping mom awhile. But Im back now and hope to start posting much more.

My dad was the other chef in the family. No he didn't cook professionally as I did. But we often would talk about foods we tried and shared recipes. I would take one of his and add more to it and he would take one of mine and adapt it to cooking a different way. We were always experimenting and trying new things. Dad was limited as to what he could try since mom didn't like much. So in honor of my Dad, I decided to dedicate this blog to him.  It was an experiment and I found out I love garlic scapes. I bet Dad would too.

 I went to the Farmers Market Sunday and found garlic scapes. Ive been hearing so much about them. I never had them before and even when I picked one up and smelled it, it didn't have much smell. So I thought, whats the big deal with these? But I bought 3 bunches anyway. I read about garlic scape pesto so I thought Id try that. I figured if I didn't like it I would just add basil, which I also bought.

But I was in for a surprise! As you cut them they do smell heavenly ......of garlic and almost grassy. My whole house smelled of it while working on my recipes. I tasted it and OMG !!!  and so now its my new favorite thing. I'm hoping to go back this week and get more cuz the season is very short for these things. For more info on scapes: http://gardening.about.com/od/herbsatoz/a/What-Are-Garlic-Scapes.htm

I did some research on them before I did anything with them and I'm glad I did. These funny looking things have a flower bud and apparently you cut those off and discard. When I wandered online for info, I never saw anyone say that in their recipes. So remember to cut off the flower head and trim the bottom of the stem. Some stems are quite tough. I found I would cut and it would be hard and pull a string on it like when your cutting celery. So keep cutting till its ez to cut. I found most stems only needed one or two cuts but there were a couple that needed more. You want the tender parts.  

Then I cut them into about 1in. lengths. I did this because I was going to but them in the food processor to make pesto. I have a small processor. I chopped all of them in the processor and dumped it in a bowl, trying to figure out what to do with so many. I thought OMG I bought too much...........wrong! After I started using them, I thought OMG I need more! lol They are that good.

And so I made Garlic Scape bread to have with dinner. And then I got carried away with my chicken and tossed some chopped scapes on that too while roasting. Finally I made the pesto. ...two batches. I have just enough to make more Garlic scape butter and Ill freeze that.  

 Garlic Scape Butter for bread

1/2 - 3/4 c. chopped garlic scapes
1 stick of butter
1/4c. Parmesan cheese
Process all in food processor till blended. Taste (omg, yummy!) and add S & P if you like.

Spread this on some nice crusty bread. I had a nice Ciabatta bread from the market too. I bake mine at 400 degrees till it starts to get brown on the edges and crusty on top. This will make the greenest bread you ever saw and will confuse people......until they taste it! I like this better than regular garlic bread. Its much more mellow and yet has quite a garlic taste. 

 Garlic Scape Pesto Makes about 2c.
    1/4 cup pine nuts
    3/4 cup coarsely chopped garlic scapes*
    Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    A few generous grinds of black pepper
    1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
    1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    *Or use half scapes and half herbs such as basil, dill and chervil

Toast pine nuts in a small fry pan if you want. Put all ingredients except oil and Parmesan in a food processor bowl. Pulse till mixed. Slowly add the oil while processor is running till mixed in. Remove from processor and put into a bowl, mix in Parmesan.

 At this point taste it and see if it needs S & P. I froze mine in small jars  to preserve till I need it. 

(sorry about that, I started to cut the chicken apart and remembered I didn't take a pic of it yet!)
My 3 Garlic Chicken Serves 4

1 lg. roaster chicken
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 carrots peeled and cut into 1in. chunks
Garlic powder
Fresh garlic
Garlic scapes, chopped
Fresh thyme and parsley
1 stick of butter
2c. chicken stock
S & P

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add potatoes and carrots to pan. Sprinkle with thyme, parsley, garlic powder and S & P. Pour chicken stock over all.

Put chicken on top of veggies. Into the cavity stuff 1 stick of butter, cut into chunks, several sprigs of fresh thyme and 5 or 6 garlic cloves. These do not have to be peeled. Sprinkle chicken with S & P and some chopped garlic scapes, (a few tbsp.)  and put in the oven.

You can baste the chicken with the stock in the pan now and then while baking. The butter will meld with the flavors in the bird and make a nice baste for it. Bake till veggies are tender and chicken is done about 1 1/2hrs. I cover it with foil for the first hr. Then I remove the foil and test the veggies. Return to oven to brown and crisp up chicken and veggies. I found at this point I usually need to raise the oven temp to 400 degrees.

This is a one pot meal I served with the garlic bread and it was soooooooooo good. 

Baby Biscuits

I haven't been feeling good today so I decided to warm up some turkey soup that I made over the holidays. I froze it for days like this. But I don't have any bread except for sandwich bread, in the house right now. And I like fresh crusty bread and butter with soup.

The other day I was strolling thru some of my herb books. I was reading China Bayles Book of Days by Susan Wittig Albert. Its a daily journal type book with lots of herbal ideas, info and recipes. I found a nice biscuit recipe in there and marked it hoping one day soon I could make it. And today was that day.

Someone in the family gave me a big bag of fat free baking mix so I decided to use it for this. I never seem to have Bisquick around, always forget to buy it. And I keep wanting to make  a homemade version and never get around to it. So when I saw this recipe I thought its a good way to start to use this up.

The recipe itself is quite full of fat but you can tweak that if you want. Use the fat free baking mix and switch out regular sour cream for fat free sour cream. And then there is butter. I personally even when cutting back would use butter because part of fine biscuits is the moist crumb and flavor. But I'm sure you could use a substitute if you want. It calls for them to be rolled in Parmesan too. But it uses so little for that you could still do the fat free biscuit and still use cheese.

 Betty Blumefield's Best Herb Biscuits Makes 24 mini biscuits

2c. baking mix (I used fat free)
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic ( I added this but it is optional)
1 c. sour cream (fat free is fine)
1/2 c. melted butter or margarine
1/2 c. grated Parmesan mixed with 1/4c. flour (I added a tsp. of ground black pepper to this)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray mini muffin pans. (I have a pump spray bottle made especially for using your own oil in it. I like it better than Pam or anything else out there. I can control what I eat this way.)

Mix baking mix, sour cream, herbs (and garlic powder) and butter. Dough will be sticky.

Scoop into 24 small balls about an inch or so in size and plop it in the cheese mixture. Roll it around in the mix and then place one in each muffin cup. Top with a bit more cheese.

Bake 15-18 minutes until brown. 

 (This is a soup spoon. You can see how small they are compared to that.)

These are cute but honestly for me tedious to eat. We ended up putting some butter on a plate and dipping it in that. Next time I think Ill make bigger ones. But I must say they are very tasty.

Elderberry Syrup for flu

I went to the Farmers Market last Sunday. I bought a case of tomatoes to can and a few other things. Before I left tho, I spotted a bag of tiny berries on stems. I asked what they were because they had a dusty frosted look to them. They were elderberries. I looked it up online and I guess they turn that color when very ripe. I didn't know that, Ive only seen the dark berries. And so I asked her for 2lbs. Now I wish I asked for more. It was the last day of the Market so I cant get anymore.

They sat here and the next day I came down with the flu. Ive been pretty sick for almost a week. I was frustrated because the stuff I bought needed to be processed and all I could do was sleep and cough. Around Thurs. I decided to try to clean the berries off the stems. I read once long ago to use a fork and it really does work great. This way you do not get really stained fingers and it doesn't take as long. 

And so I left the bag of berries on my butcher block and a bowl next to it...and any time I felt a bit better I would work on some. It really only took me about an hr or so. Probably would have been much faster if I wasn't so sick. And then the berries sat another day or so. I just couldn't do it. I had considered making some jam but not now.

And so since elderberry is a good thing to take for flu, I decided it would be faster and better for me if I made that syrup to take. Elderberry is antiviral. It wont keep you from getting sick but will cut down on the length of time you are sick. Ive taken some from one I bought at the health food store but I think one you make yourself is fresher. Ive noticed it working much faster than what I bought.

And so I decided to add some other good things for colds to it. Rather than use sugar to make it syrupy, I added honey. Its not a thick syrup but that's ok. I did it for the health benefits of honey and for flavor. And I buy local honey which is even better to use. Then I decided ginger is good too. I often buy ginger knobs and peel them, then slice them into coins about 1/4 in. thick. Then I cover them with dry sherry to preserve it. Kept in the refrigerator, I can use them in all my stir fries and even the sherry adds a nice flavor. This way I always have some on hand. And because this was a syrup to heal, I added the zest of one small lemon for a bit more flavor and some Vit. C.

Elderberry Syrup makes about 3 1/2pts.

2lbs. of elderberries, fresh picked still on stems
4c. water
2c. honey
2 1/4in. slices of ginger
Zest of one small lemon

Clean the berries from the stems with a fork. Put all berries in a lg. pot and add the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20min. till berries are really soft.  Strain the berries and juice thru a very fine strainer into a bowl. Let berries drip for about an hr., pressing juices out and stirring them around to release all the juices.

When you can get no more juice, toss berries in garbage. Pour juices into a pan and add the honey. Bring to a boil, then add the ginger and lemon and simmer till it tastes like you would like. I let mine simmer about 15min. more. I wanted some of the flavors but didn't want them to overwhelm the elderberry flavor since I really like that. Then strain the ginger and lemon peel out.
You can pour into jars and refrigerate or you can can them for longer use. How much you get will depend on how many berries were in that 2lbs OR how many berries you have. . The jars can be water bathed for 10min. if needed.

*And by the way, Ive taken it for two days now and last night I slept better and my cough is easing. 

 And for anyone else planning on doing this......dont use any stems in the mix. I read of one case of poisoning from these berries and it was due to some just throwing it all in a pot then straining. The cause was from the stems. So use the fork to rake them off the stems, it works great and its quick and you get almost no stems at all that way.

Rosemary Della Robbia Jam

The other day I was given a lot of grapes. Now I can only eat so many and my bf wont eat many either. So I wandered online looking for recipes to use them in. I was looking to preserve them. There's really not many recipes out there for grapes other than Concord and those kind. The grapes you get from the store which is plentiful for me, I never see any canning recipes for. So I gathered the few I did find and went into my kitchen to do what I do best....play Mad Scientist.

I had two nice Honeycrisp apples left I wanted to use up so I decide to add those and I'm glad. These grapes really don't have much substance, there's more juice than pulp. And I didn't want skins in this either, I don't like them. But once I cooked up the grapes and apples they had a sickly pale beige color. Yuck. And so I had some plums here yet and decided to add just one for color and it worked. Its a nice rosy color now. But again I wanted more, I wanted spice. So I added cinnamon. It was good but needed more so I added orange zest.........okay NOW we're talking! Yum. But again I wanted more so I added fresh ground black pepper....lets get this thing spicier now. That gave it a little bit of heat, not alot. And finally I decided to try an herb and I picked rosemary cuz I know its yummy with orange.

This turned out really  yummy. Even my bf tasted it and said its really good. I picture this for the holidays for entertaining........with some nice goat cheese or even a brie on crackers. I have just a bit left chilling in the fridge now that I'm hoping to snack on later. So for those interested , here's my recipe. You could add more pepper if you want it hotter but since I wasn't sure what would happen with cooking and canning, I didn't want to overwhelm it. Right now it has a nice bite but something you don't notice right away.

Rosemary Della Robbia Jam Makes 3 pts.

6c. assorted grapes off the stems
2 Honeycrisp apples, quartered, cored
1 Italian plum, pitted 
1c. water
1 lg. orange
1tsp. cinnamon
1tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 4 in. long sprig of fresh rosemary
4 tb. low sugar pectin
1 1/2c. organic sugar
3 extra sprigs of rosemary about 2in. long each

Cook grapes, apples and plum in the water till soft and skins are tender. Cool a bit then run thru a food mill to remove skins. I used a plum to add a better color. I was given a big batch of red and greens grapes and the color was a pale pink beige and just didn't look too appetizing, so I added the plum to give it more color.

Put juice and pulp back in pan and heat. Add one tb. of zested orange peel, chopped fine and the juice from the orange. Add the cinnamon and pepper and bring to a boil.

Add pectin and stir in quickly. Let come back to a boil and boil for 1min. a boil you cannot stir down.

Add sugar and bring to a boil and let boil for 1min. with a boil you cannot stir down. Remove Rosemary from pot.

You should have your jars hot and ready to go. In each jar put a piece of Rosemary about 2in. long and pour hot jam over and seal. Water bath for 10 min. Turn off heat and let sit 5min. more then take out and let cool on counter for 24 hrs. Check seals.

This has a sweet, orangey, herby taste with a bit of heat you don't feel right away. It would be yummy with cream cheese or goat cheese on crackers for the holidays.

Bruschetta Salsa

I love Bruschetta. We used to make it in the restaurant for some of the private parties. I didn't think I could can it tho since it really does need fresh garden tomatoes not that cardboard stuff from the stores. I looked around and theres mostly one recipe out there and it has way too much vinegar for my tastes. To me it should have very little or none at all, maybe just a drizzle of balsamic.

And so I looked around online and in my books and found this version. I liked that it didn't have much vinegar , just a touch and some lemon juice. That acid is needed for water bath canning so I knew doing this , it had to have some.

I had some plum tomatoes growing in my garden this yr. Im still working on getting it to produce. I dont live in an area where they grow well but I managed to get some. They are however very small and other than tossing in a salad I wasn't sure what to do with them. Then I saw this recipe. I also got a great deal on some heirlooms at the farmers market this week...$1 lb. Heirlooms in the stores around here are almost $4lb. So I grabbed quite a few to use in this too.

I also got two nice big bunches of fresh basil. I had some nice garlic from another vendor there I bought the week before too. And so I decided to try this. I did taste it as it cooked a bit. It was very good. I did add the tomato paste cuz the tomatoes threw alot of juice. I drained some of that juice and added a TB. more of tomato paste to the recipe. But I didn't add the green onions. I like a more garlic flavor in my bruschetta and since it already had shallots which I dont normally put in, I decided adding green onions would be overkill.

It looks nice in the jar and I hope it tastes fresh still. I figure I can mix some bits of chopped mozzarella to it and stir in some olive oil when I serve it on nice crusty garlic bread. I slice baguettes, brush them with a nice virgin olive oil and toast or grill them. Then I rub fresh garlic on them. Top with the bruschetta........YUM!

 (Looks separated right out of the canner, but as it cools its blending nicely.)
(I found this in The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving) 
BRUSCHETTA SALSA Makes 3 pts.

    3 cups Roma tomatoes; peeled and diced
    2 large cloves garlic; minced
    2 shallots; minced
    1 cup fresh basil; chopped
    1 tbsp red wine vinegar
    1 tsp lemon juice
    1/2 tsp pickling salt
    1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
    2 green onions; minced
    3 tbsp tomato paste

Prepare for water bath canning.
Blanch tomatoes to remove skins.  Remove seeds and dice.

In a large stainless steel saucepan combine tomatoes, garlic, shallots, basil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add green onion and tomato paste stirring until ingredients are well combined.   Return to a boil. Remove from heat and ladle hot salsa into hot sterilized jars leaving a 1/2in.  head space.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, place lids and screw bands on adjusting so they are just  finger-tip tight.  Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. When the time is up turn off the heat and remove lid, wait 5 minutes before removing the jars.  Check seals, label, and store.

Easy Smoked Pork Chops

(Dinner: smoked pork chop, mixed veggies, caprese salad and mac and cheese---I know its in a lot of my pics but the man loveeeeee mac and cheese.)
We love smoked pork chops. In my family we made them with eggs for breakfast in the morning. They can be a bit pricey in the stores tho. I love smoked meats and pork is one of the better things to smoke but I don't have a smoker here. And so the other day while online, I noticed a friend mention making pork chops with a smoked paprika rub. I had an aha!!! moment then because I bought some and never used it. I always planned on experimenting with it and never got around to it.

And so I asked my online friend if she would share the recipe and she did. And in the process I told her I often use brown sugar for my rubs, I find the flavor more mellow. She liked that. I like that we can share ideas like this online. (Thank you Clarice!)   Storybook Woods

 So I took her recipe and cut it down to about 1/3 because I wasn't sure if we would like this or not. I tweaked it my way and added my favorite herb.....thyme.

I rubbed the pork chops (there is only two cuz there's just two of us) and let them sit till my other half got home. He grilled them while I made the rest of dinner. And I must say this is a rub Ill use often!! He loved the chop so much he picked it up in his fingers to get to the meat on the bone before he was done with it. He never does that. He also said it was so good I should make it again. And so I will.

Smoked Paprika Rub

1/4 c. smoked paprika
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. salt, I use kosher
a scant 1/4 c garlic powder or granulated
1/8 c. fresh ground pepper (I do mine in a mill, when I need it)
2 tsp. thyme or use your favorite herb

 Mix together in a small bowl. I store mine in small jars in my cabinet. Rub generously onto the meat you will be cooking and let sit awhile so it can season the meat. We grilled these, but the weather was getting wild and windy and I did consider baking them if we couldn't grill.

Strawberry Balsamic Jam w/Lemon Thyme

The other day I was able to get a flat of fresh local strawberries. My boyfriends dad told me they are there several times a week. When I got there they were just loading up the tables. They had two kinds of berries.....Puget sound and Hood river. Since I was making jam I asked about which would be better. Apparently the Hood river makes a too sweet jam, who would think that? They are best for eating fresh. So  I bought the other. That photo is the berries hulled and ready for jam.

Strawberry Balsamic Jam w/Lemon Thyme Makes 12 half pts.

8c. of ripe strawberries
1/4c. balsamic vinegar
1/3c. water
6 tb. of low sugar pectin
2c. organic sugar
1 tb. of fresh chopped lemon thyme leaves only

Wash and hull strawberries. Roughly chop in food processor 7c. of berries and put in a lg. pot. Leave last cup of berries whole and toss in pot too. This is so there is a variety of texture. I like pieces of berries in mine. If you don't, then chop it all. 

Add balsamic vinegar and water. Turn heat to high. Stir in pectin and bring to a hard boil. A hard boil is one you cannot stir down. Watch carefully and keep stirring so berries don't burn. 

When you have reached the hard boil stage, add the sugar and bring to a boil once again. Let boil for 1min.

 Add lemon thyme and remove from heat. Water bath can for 10 min.

I wash all my jars and put the lids in a pot of boiling water. To keep jars warm while making jam, I heat my oven to 200 degrees. Jars get put on sheet pans and put in oven. You want warm jars with hot food or the jars may break. When all is ready fill jars to within a half in. of rim. Wipe edges well to get a good seal and top with lids. Put in water bath canner.

Water should be boiling, start timing from point of boil, 10 min. Shut heat off and let jars sit in canner 5min. This helps create a good seal. Remove and let cool.

*I often use my jams to add to my morning yogurt. I did it this morning with this jam and its awesome. It tastes like I put fresh berries in it. I purposely keep my jams low sugar when I can, to use like this.

Also I only added 1tb. of fresh lemon thyme leaves. I didn't want to overwhelm it with too much. However next time I think I will double it because lemon thyme is more mellow and I can barely detect it in this jam.

A garden day and some tea

Today was a gorgeous day...the sun was out all day. It was clear and the birds were out, even my deer came to rest in the yard. Today we had two young bucks and a doe just laying around eating grass.

I tried to get some gardening done. Its been hard right now because a lot of what I need to do is heavy and I have a bad back. And so little by little I'm doing it. I went to get eggs today too from the egg lady and when I came home the man filled in one of the extra garden beds with dirt. I was so happy, its so hard for me to lift and move so many buckets of dirt.

So after I did some earlier today I came back inside to rest. I decided to work on my garden layout.....I'm trying to do companion planting this yr so I get the most out of those raised beds. Being it was so nice, I took pad and pen and my lists along with a nice drink out onto the back deck. Don't you know about 10min. after I did that the cloud rolled in front of the sun and it got chilly. So I stayed till I finished the layout and came inside.

Just before I came in tho a bird was hanging out on the beds near me. He looked like he was trying to get someones attention. He jumped up at the window and then back down, then looked at me and when I spoke to him he turned his head back and forth. He looked like he was trying to understand me. He did this several times then finally flew to the roof. He looked down there and then at me again. Finally I said are you hungry and he tweeted at me!! I regularly throw bread out for them and they did that to me last yr too. And so I laughed and told him, hang on I have to go get some. Meet me at the front porch. And so I went there and tore up some bread and tossed it on the lawn. He came first and got some and then the crows started to come. One sat in he tree bobbing up and down and cawing like he was calling his buddies. One by one they came. It was too cute.

I did a few things in the house and then went back out to the garden to cut back a few plants that needed it. I knew once I did that then all I have to do is finish amending the soil and Ill be ready to plant. I have a large pot of mint and alot of it died during the winter. So there was alot to cut off. Some were very long spindly things too. So I cut it all and was about to toss it out when I realized there was some new growth on the ends . That would be where alot of the oils would be and would make great tea.

So I brought that inside and picked off the best leaves. I ran them thru my salad spinner. If you don't have one you should get one, they are great. Ive had mine for 25yrs already. You toss in your greens or herbs and let water fun thru it while you pull the string on it .........this spins it  to wash. Then shut the water off and pull the string a few times to spin it dry. I did this with the mint leaves and then laid them out on a plate to dry.

Hot Mint Tea

for each serving...
1 tea bag.....could be black tea or green tea, I often use decaf, especially at nite
1 nice handful of fresh mint leaves for each person
Boiling water
Honey

Boil enough water to fill your teapot. Rinse the teapot with hot water to warm the pot. After rinsing your fresh mint leaves, if you have picked them from the garden, put a handful for each person your making tea for into a nice teapot. Add a tea bag for each person too. When the water boils, add enough to the teapot to fill it. Let steep for 3-5minutes. Serve with honey. You could add sugar instead but we prefer honey.

I prefer spearmint, that's just me but peppermint could be used too. Its good after a dinner to sooth the stomach. We often use it when we have eaten too much or the meal gives us gas pains. Its really good before bedtime to soothe the tummy and help you sleep.

Mushroom-Lemon Thyme Rice

I went to grocery shop for a few things the other day. I found country ribs on a buy one get one free sale. I like to use those for so many things. But because I was out all day and tired when I got home,  I decided last nite to just put my BBQ rub on them and bake them off , then sauce them and bake a bit more. My bf got home before me so  he ate late. No one was really hungry yet so this was a good idea. This way dinner could bubble away slowly in the oven till we were hungry. And so I made buttered broccoli and a Mushroom/Lemon thyme rice. Dinner was great. 


And there's some leftovers I think Ill combine and freeze to use for fried rice another time. I mixed the leftover broccoli, rice, and some of the BBQ pork ribs, chopped fine,  together and when I decide to make the fried rice, all Ill have to do is fry up a few more veggies and add the frozen rice mix with some soy and ginger and garlic. And there will be either a quick dinner or a nice side dish for something else.


Mushroom Lemon Thyme Rice serves 4

1/4c. chopped onion
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini)
1 tb. olive oil + 1 tb. butter
1c. rice
2c. chicken broth
1 tb. fresh chopped lemon thyme (you could add more if you love a stronger flavor)
1 garlic clove, minced
Parmesan cheese
S & P

Put oil and butter in a lg. frying pan. When butter is melted toss in chopped onion. Sauté 5 min., then add sliced mushrooms. Sauté till veggies begin to brown a bit. Add rice and stir well sautéing till rice begins to get a bit brown too. Add chicken stock.

Add garlic and lemon thyme stir well and cover with lid. Taste and see if it needs S & P and adjust the seasonings. Cook until almost all the broth is absorbed. At that point shut heat off and let sit 10-15min. till rest of broth is absorbed and rice is fluffy. Stir in about a 1/4c. of Parmesan cheese and stir. Serve.

Irish Soda Bread, two ways

Today I made my traditional corned beef dinner. However I found this recipe for Soda bread made with herbs and decided to try it. My bf doesn't like raisins or currants tho but I do. This recipe doesn't call for it. So I thought Id make it. Somehow tho to me, I need that touch of sweet. So since I once had something long ago traditionally sweet that someone added herbs to, that I just loved...I decided to do that to this.


So to make us both happy I made the dough and cut it in half. I added raisins that I soaked to soften to one half and made the other as the recipe said. While this is tasty either way, I'm glad I tried it my way. If I had a choice I'd would make this with raisins in the whole loaf. So if you have someone who hates fruit in this.....just know this works either way.

Irish Soda Bread with Herbs and with or without Raisins
 4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Dill Weed
1 teaspoon Tarragon
1 teaspoon Thyme
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1 Egg Yolk
1 tablespoon Water
opt. 1/4c. raisins if you split this dough, for the whole recipe add 1/2c. 


Preheat the oven to 325° F. (If you are using raisins, soak in a bit of warm water, when plump, drain well and set aside.) In mixing bowl, combine 4 cups flour, the herbs, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix on low speed of electric mixer with paddle attachment for 2 minutes. 

(If you add raisins, take a few tbs. of this mixture and add the raisins to this, mix well and set aside.)

Whisk together the buttermilk and vegetable oil in a mixing bowl. 

 Gradually add the buttermilk mixture to the combined dry ingredients while mixing on low speed and continue to mix until the dough forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Scrape the dough away from the paddle and turn the dough ball over. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds longer. Transfer the dough ball to a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Form the dough into a round loaf, pinching and twisting the bottom a bit to make the loaf taller. (Cut in half if adding raisins to half and knead them in now. Otherwise if making a raisin loaf add them with the flour. This is so you can have half and half.)

 Place the loaf, pinched side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick silicone liner. (I used two smaller pottery pie plates lined with parchment since I was making two different kinds.) In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water, then lightly brush the mixture over the top of the loaf. Score the loaf by cutting a 1/4-inch deep "X" into the top. Bake the loaf in the preheated 325° oven for 50 to 55 minutes. (In my convection oven, with two smaller loaves, they took about 40min.) The bread is done when a hollow sound is heard when the bottom is tapped with your finger. 

Allow the bread to cool to room temperature before slicing.

Rosehips

I bought a pound of dried rosehips from an herb supplier. Ive had them in tea and like them so I thought Id like to have some on hand here. I have roses growing all the time on my property and have never done a thing with the hips. So since its winter and Im thinking of spring I thought Id like to gather a few recipes I would like to try using rosehips. Hopefully some of these will inspire you to use them too.

Rose Hips-

The rose hip and rose haw, is the pomaceous fruit of the rose plant, that typically is red-to-orange, but might be dark purple-to-black in some species. Contrary to the fairly common myth, rosehips are not poisonous.

Rose hips of some species, especially Rosa canina (Dog Rose) and R. majalis, have been used as a source of Vitamin C. Rose hips are commonly used as an herbal tea, often blended with hibiscus and as an oil. They can also be used to make jam, jelly, marmalade and wine. Rose hip soup, "nyponsoppa," is especially popular in Sweden. Rhodomel, a type of mead, is made with rose hips.

Some species of rose are sometimes referred to as rose hip, including Rosa canina (dog rose), R. rubiginosa, and R. moschata (Musk-rose)

Kodiak Rose Hip Tea

Rose hips give a fruity hint of floral flavor to lightly spiced hot tea. If you are so inclined, spike it with a bit of Grand Marnier for a delicious hot toddy.

* 1 tea bag
* 1 Tablespoon dried rose hips
* 3 to 4 whole cloves
* Sugar or honey to taste
* 1 cup boiling water

Preparation:
Steep tea bag, rose hips, and cloves in boiling water for five minutes. Remove hips and cloves. Reheat if desired. Sweeten to taste with sugar or honey. Yield: 1 serving

Drying Rose Hips and Rose Hips Puree

4 cups of rose hips

Preparation:
Just after a frost is the best time to gather rose hips. Snap off the tails as you pick,or later when you reach home. Spread the hips out on a clean surface and allow to dry partially. When the skins begin to feel dried and shriveled, split the hips and take out the large seeds -- all of them. If you let the hips dry too much, it will be difficult to remove the seeds. If not dry enough, the inside pulp will be sticky and cling to the seeds. After the seeds are removed, allow the hips to dry completely before storing or they will not keep well. Store in small, sealed plastic bags. These will keep indefinitely in the freezer or for several months in the refrigerator. They are packed with vitamin C and are good to munch on anytime you need extra energy...or a moderately sweet nutlike "candy."

Making Puree:
Use soft ripe rose hips (the riper they are, the sweeter they are). It takes about 4 cups of rose hips to make 2 cups of puree. Remove stalks and blossom ends. Rinse berries in cold water. Put them into a pan and add enough water to almost cover. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Press through a sieve or strainer. All that does not go through the sieve is placed in the pan again. Add a little water, enough to almost cover, if you want a thicker puree, add slightly less. This time heat but do not boil so vigorously. This will dissolve a little more of the fruit so that it will go through the sieve. Press again and then repeat the process one more time. By now, most of the fruit should have gone through the sieve leaving only seeds and skin to discard.

Drying Puree or making "leather":
Line a cookie sheet, 12 by 17 inches, with plastic wrap. This size cookie sheet holds approximately 2 cups of puree. Spread puree or fruit leather evenly over the plastic but do not push it completely to the sides. Leave a bit of plastic showing for easy removal. Place on a card table or picnic table in the hot sun to dry. If the plastic is bigger than the cookie sheet and extends up the sides, anchor it with clothes pins so it will not flop down and cover the edges of the leather. Puree should dry in the sun six to eight hours.

Rose Hip Apple Sauce

* Apples
* Rose hip juice

Preparation:
Cook apples for making sauce in rose hip juice, or cook rose hips and apples together and puree them using a sieve or other straining device to remove the seeds. Proceed with standard applesauce recipe.

Rose Hip Crumble Pie

* Pastry for single-crust 9-lnch pie
* 1 cup dried rose hips
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1-1/2 cups sifted flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* Dash of salt
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1-3/4 cups brown sugar
* 2 egg yolks, beaten
* 2 egg whites
* Pecan halves (optional)

Preparation:
Prepare pastry and line a pie pan. Soften rose hips in milk.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream in shortening and brown sugar, mixing well. This makes a crumbly mixture - reserve 1 cup for topping. To the remainder add the egg yolks, milk and rose hips. Beat the egg whites until peaks hold form. Fold into the berry mixture. Spoon into pie pan and sprinkle with the crumbly topping. Garnish with pecan halves, too, if you wish.

Bake at 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C.) for 35 to 45 minutes or until pie appears well done. Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Rosehip Jelly

* 4 quarts ripe rose hips
* 2 quarts water
* 1 package pectin crystals
* 5 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup lemon juice

Preparation:
Simmer rose hips in water until soft. Crush to mash, and strain through a jelly bag. Should make about 4 cups of rose hip juice.

Add to juice, lemon juice and pectin crystals and stir until mixture comes to a hard boil. Stir sugar in at once. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove jelly from heat and skim off foam with metal spoon. Pour jelly into hot sterilized jars. Yield: about 5 cups

Rose Hip Nut Bread

* Juice of 1 orange plus water to make 1 cup
* 1/2 cup chopped raisins
* 3/4 cup seeded and chopped wild rose hips
* 2 Tablespoons melted butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1-1/2 cups flour
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup nuts or sunflower seeds

Preparation:
In a large bowl, mix the orange juice, raisins, rose hips, butter, vanilla, and egg. Sift together and then add the dry ingredients. Mix until well blended but do not overmix or bread will be dry and heavy. Gently stir in nuts or sunflower seeds. Spoon batter into a well-greased 5 x 8-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F. ( 175 degrees C.) for one hour. Yield: 1 loaf

Rose Hip Soup

* 1 quart rose hip juice or puree (fresh or canned)
* 2 to 4 Tablespoons honey
* 1 to 3 Tablespoons lemon juice or homemade cider vinegar, optional (Omit if using canned juice or puree.)
* 1 Tablespoon potato starch, cornstarch, or tapioca granules
* 6 (about) Tablespoons sour cream or yogurt, optional

Preparation:
Heat the rose hips juice or puree, honey, and lemon juice or vinegar. Adjust amounts of honey and lemon juice or vinegar to give a lively sweet tart flavor.

Mix the starch or tapioca in enough cold water to moisten it, and stir it in. Cook till the soup thickens slightly and clears. Float a spoon of sour cream or yogurt in each bowl of soup when it is served. Yield: 5 to 6 medium bowls

Variations
Using Dried Rose Hips:
Soak l/2 cup dried rose hips in a quart of water for a few minutes, then cook till soft. Mash with a fork and strain, reserving liquid. Add another cup of water to the pulp. heat to a boil, then strain. Combine the juice from both strainings and use for making the soup.

Rose Hip Pudding:
Add honey to taste, and increase starch or tapioca to 5-6 tablespoons. After it has thickened pour the pudding into individual dishes or into a serving dish to cool. The flavor is brisk and very fruity.

Rose Hip Syrup

* 4 cups rose hips
* 2 cups water
* 1 cup sugar

Preparation:
Wash rose hips thoroughly. Remove stems and flower remnants. Boil hips and water for 20 minutes in a covered saucepan. Strain through a jelly bag. Return clear juice to kettle. Add sugar. stir well and boil five minutes. Refrigerate until used.

Two meals from one pot of chicken

Ok these were my own creations. Sadly I have no pictures of my own, sorry. Sometimes I don't think to do that when experimenting. First one is dinner. Make enough of that to have leftovers for the breakfast. Both are incredible. My bf who hates chicken loved the dinner and said the breakfast was addictive!

Two Balsamic Chicken
Serves 2 for dinner, with leftover for breakfast.

4 boneless chicken breasts, I put them in frozen
5 garlic cloves , minced
about a tsp. of dried rosemary, crumbled
about a half tsp. dried thyme, crumbled
Extra Virgin Olive oil
2tb. balsamic vinegar
2tb. white balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a small casserole dish that will hold the chicken. Top with chicken breasts. You dont even have to thaw these and in fact, I think it keeps it juicy by not thawing. Crumble the garlic, rosemary and thyme over all in pan. Drizzle with more olive oil and the balsamic vinegars. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Bake for about 45min. but check about halfway thru. I have a convection oven so sometimes it cooks quicker than I realize. If it looks pink in the middle but almost done, kick up the heat to 400 degrees to finish and brown. Serve with all the yummy juices.

I served this with my herbal potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce. We almost licked the plates it was so good.

Balsamic vinegar is a very aged, mellow and sweeter vinegar that regular vinegar. I have used dark balsamic most of the time and you can use just that with this. But I also found white balsamic at Trader Joe's and decided to mix them both here. You see the dark was sweeter and mellower but the white had a bit more tang to the sweet. Thought it would be a nice mix and it was.

Crusty Rosemary Potatoes

For this recipe I peeled and cut of 5 lg. potatoes. Cut in half, then each half in half. Cut into chunks. In a bowl, put potatoes, a couple of minced garlic cloves, a bit of rosemary, Salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Mix till all are coated. Now toss in about 2tb. of flour and mix till coated. Drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil and dump all the potatoes on it. Put in oven with chicken. These will be crusty and crispy in about 30-45min. I worked a cooking class an English woman gave several yrs ago. She suggested dusting potatoes like this with flour to make them extra crusty and brown. I love it. If I serve oven roasted potatoes with a roast Ill make them the same way. Everybody just loves them. You can use all kinds of herbs too but garlic is a perfect match for these for sure.


Save what chicken is left. We ate two and I had two for the next day. Save the juices and all the potatoes that are left too.

Next day:
Sea's Chicken Hash
Serve 2 hearty appetites

2 leftover cooked chicken breasts from above recipe, chopped up plus juices
leftover potatoes from recipe above
4-6 mushrooms, sliced
6 green onions, sliced
butter, salt and pepper to taste
about a 1/2c frozen spinach
2 slices provolone cheese, 2 slices swiss cheese, chopped
As many eggs as you would like, we had 5

Melt butter in a non stick frying pan. Add mushrooms, green onions and potatoes. Stir till mushrooms start to throw some juice. Add chickenand juices. Stir well and fry a bit till it starts to get a little crusty, approx. 10min. or so. Add spinach and cook till thawed and heated thru. Flatten hash out so it cooks evenly and crack open eggs on top. Lower heat. Sprinkle cheeses over and cover. Cook till eggs are done to your liking. I served this with toast and my bf went nuts over it.....I put a bit of ketchup on mine.