Recipe: Crock-Pot Reduced-Sugar Plum Jam

Gonna have to wait for Part 2 of the "Crazy Chicken Lady" Saga.  I'm just evil that way!

Instead, I wanna switch gears and yak a bit about my garden.  More specifically, my Santa Rosa Plum tree.

You see, with our complete-and-utter lack of Winter, the fruit trees seem to have gotten confused and the plums were early this year.

Early...

And abundant...

Day #1 of harvesting

Day #2

Day #3 (I think?!)

Day "Gawd-Only-Knows!"

Stop the Madness!!!

And that's not even all of 'em!  We got a LOT of plums this year is what I'm sayin'!

Oh, and my last CSA Delivery?  They sent me even MORE plums ("Oh sh*t!").  Although, honestly, *my* plums were way bigger and tastier - HA!

I pawned some of my plums off on neighbors and friends.  Even tried a "Who Wants Plums?!" post on Facebook (got one or two takers).  Then I contemplated looking up local food-kitchens to see who would take some of my harvest (and/or was gonna put a post out on Freecycle)...

In the end, I decided that I'd try some kind of "easy" method of preserving them.  Added bonus: Since I've got so damned many plums, I figured I could make up Baby-Jars of jam and slap pretty labels on 'em, then give them away as Christmas Gifts to my colleagues...

Soooo...  The biggest challenge with *my* plums is that they are not freestone.  I think I've yammered about that before but the general gist is: Stonefruits (such as peaches, plums and apricots) can be "freestone" (where the pit isn't really "attached" to the inside of the fruit, and therefore it's easy to slice 'em in half and pop-out the pit), or "cling" (which is the exact opposite - the pit is super-glued to the inside of the fruits' flesh).  Santa Rosa Plums fall into the latter category, and they are a PITA to de-pit!

I did buy a plum-pitter, but my fruits were too big and juicy.  Attempts at using the pitter resulted in plum-juice squirting all over hell and creation...

Not a real time-saver.

So then I consulted The Great Oracle, Google, again.  I stumbled onto a couple-three different recipes for Plum-Butter made in the Crock-Pot.  The only site that I bookmarked was this one - and I didn't really follow-it to the letter (but it gave me a starting point, right?)

My Main Objective was to find a way to convert plums to something jam-like (or "Plum-Butter"-like, or "Plum Spread"-like), without having to scrub plum-juice off the ceiling!

And I made this three separate times - and got three completely-different results!  I'll tell you the differences, below.

What follows is my Best-Guess/Guideline for how to make it - and have it taste AWESOME!

But first a couple of caveats: 

1 - This is not going to be a chunky jam.  It's almost closer to "jelly" - except that it's not clear. It does have fruit-bits in it.  They're just not chunky-fruit-bits.  Think Smuckers-Jam consistency.  This is a cook-the-hell-out-of-it kinda jam - so it's not gonna have that "fresh-picked" flavor (like freezer jams).  Regardless, it it still *quite* tasty. 

2 - This is not a "quick and easy" jam.  It's fairly labor-intensive and takes a fair amount of time, but it doesn't require you to stand over a hot stove for an extended period of time (much appreciated, right now, 'cause our temps are in the 90's!).

3. Honestly, this recipe is PERFECT for a "Work-At-Home" kinda person (like me!) 'cause it helps to be nearby, but it doesn't require a lot of ongoing "hands-on" kinda tending...  If you're chained to your desk for 8+ hours/day (but can take breaks throughout the day), then this is the PERFECT recipe for you!

QT's Crock-Pot Reduced-Sugar Plum-Jam

Yield: appx 12 x 4oz. jars of jam

Ingredients:

• 30 plums (appx 4#), blanched and peeled (Count your plums before you start!)
• 2 - 2-1/2 C Splenda
• 1 - 1-1/2 C Granulated Sugar
• 4 - 5 TBS powdered pectin
• 2 TBS Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/8 - 1/4 tsp Almond Extract

Instructions:

1. Prepare a large dutch oven with appx 3" of lightly boiling water, and a large bowl filled with ice-water. Blanch your plums (appx 4-5 at a time) by plunking them into the boiling water for appx 30-60 seconds (til the skins start to peel), then dunk them immediately in the ice-water (to stop the "cooking").  Peel the now-loose-skins off the plums.  Don't freak-out if you don't get ALL of the skins off - just bear-in-mind that the skin is what provides the "tartness" (so the more skin you leave-on, the more sweetener you'll need).
2. Put the naked plums into your crock pot (mine is a 4-quart model and 30 plums is about as much as it can comfortably hold). Cover and cook on high for appx 2-3 hours.
3. At the 2-3 hour mark, the plums will still be round and recognizable, but mushy as all get-out.  Grab a slotted/holey serving spoon and a regular (metal) tablespoon and start scooping the plums, one at a time.  Use the tablespoon + slotted spoon to gooze-out the soft bits (back into the crock-pot) and remove the pit.  Repeat this for all of the plums and confirm that you got ALL of the pits!
   
   You may find that there's still a lot of fruit attached to the pits.  If you want to preserve as much fruit as you can, place the pits in a metal sieve/strainer and use your spoon to squish-'em up against the mesh and release all of the fruit gooze.
   
   Note: I did try a food-mill on my first-pass, but the pits actually jammed-it-up (no pun intended!).  The wire-mesh strainer actually worked better for me.
4. Now you have a decision to make.  You can go with the Lazy-Method and return everything to the crock-pot to cook, uncovered, for another 4-6 hours.  Or you can transfer everything to your dutch-oven, on the stove-top, to continue cooking everything down (You're gonna have to "finish" on the stove-top, regardless...)
5. Now you want to cook everything down 'til it's reduced to about half the volume you started with.  Crock-pot, uncovered, takes awhile.  Stove-top is faster - just make sure it's a low, rolling boil, and you stir frequently because you don't want it to burn and/or stick to the pot.
6. After everything's been reduced by half, it's time for the Stove-Top.  Pour everything into your dutch-oven (if you chose the "Lazy Method!"), and stir in your cinnamon, lemon juice, and almond extract (they won't make a HUGE difference in the flavor, but I suspect it would be "lacking something" if you don't include them!).  Then give it a taste to get a rough idea of how much sweetener you think you'll need.
7. Mix up your dry ingredients (Splenda + Sugar + Pectin) in a dry bowl.  I started out with the "lower" numbers (2 C Splenda + 1 C Sugar + 4 TBS Pectin), then stirred it in.  Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Give it a taste and adjust if it needs more sweetener.
8. If it needs more sweetener, check for "set" before adding it:  Scoop up a teaspoonful of jam and put it on a plate in the fridge for 5 mins.  If it "sets-up," you're good.  If not, add another TBS of Pectin when you add more sweetener (you *can* add pectin w/o add'l sweetener, but it tends to clump-up).
9. Once it's confirmed to "set" properly and it tastes as sweet as you  like, transfer the jam into sterilized jam jars.  Clean the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a water-bath for 6 minutes...
10. Confirm that the lids sealed properly, let 'em rest overnight, and you're all done!  Hey-oh!!!

Okaaaaaayyyy...  How 'bout some pictures?!

Rinsed 'n Ready!

Blanching Stations
Boiling water to the right, Bowl of ice water to the left

Nekkid Plums in the Crock Pot
(NSFW!!!)

Count your Plum Pits, and squish 'em thru a strainer!
(All present and accounted-for!)

This is what it looks like at the 2-3 hour point.
Lower-half: Already pitted
Upper-half: Pending pitting!

Cooking Down ("Lazy Method!")

It looks the same if you do it on the stove-top.  Just faster!

All Done!

Okay, additional Blah-Blah-Blahs!  

The first batch I made ended up being "Plum Sauce."  I did NOT blanch and peel the plums for the first batch, so that batch came-out SUPER tart!  I didn't do a water-bath-processing for that batch (I decided to toss it into the freezer), but - regardless - I think it's too tart for a shmear-on-bread kinda jam.  I'll use Batch #1 as a Plum-Sauce for chicken breasts or pork chops (and I bet it's DEEEE-LISH!).

Batch #2 was made using the "Lazy Method" - probably close to 10-hours in the crock pot (and one final hour on the Stove-top).  I was surprised that this method required the most added sweetener (since the plums were SUPER-ripe!).  It yieleded *exactly* 12 x 4 oz. jars.

Batch #3 was made using the Stove-Top Method (but the 1st two hours were in the crock-pot).  Those were fresher-plums (picked early this morning, and plunked into the crock-pot by 10am).  I thought the fresher batch would be more tart (for some reason), but that did NOT prove to be the case, so I cut-back to the "lower" estimates for sweeteners on that batch.

Batch #3 - even though I started out with the same qty of plums - yielded the most jam: 12 x 4 oz. jars PLUS another (appx) 10 oz on top of that (which I put in a plastic bin in the fridge - think I'll serve it over ice cream!).

Okay then!  If you've got a bumper-crop of plums, then I suggest you make yourself a couple-three batches of jam!

Cheers!

-QT

Recipe: Sweet Potato Leek Soup

If you hang out here on a semi-regular basis, you probably know that I'm a bit of a nutcase when it comes to wanting to know where my food comes from.  Part of it comes from watching all those funky Food documentaries on Netflix (Food, Inc., King Corn, Frankensteer, etc.), and part of it is probably hereditary (my mom grew up on a farm, and my dad and I spent a couple of years "Playing Farmer" on her old homestead in Utah, after we'd inherited it from Grandpa).

And if you happen to know ME in the real world, you'll know I don't "Do" resolutions.

Howsomever...  The two don't have to be mutually exclusive.  I mean, we did buy Spreckles, the Fair Pig, a couple of years ago (and we've still got some pork chops and ribs in the freezer!).  And I do subscribe to Farm Fresh To You - where I get a monthly delivery of fresh organic produce (used to be weekly, but we just couldn't eat through THAT much produce!).

Now, I recently discovered that one of our local Farmer's Markets is actually open year-round (Yay!), so that brings me to my NON-Resolution for 2014:  Wherever possible, I am going to refrain from buying produce at the grocery store (in spite of the fact that, yes, they do have a decent selection of organics).  Instead, I am going to make an effort to :::GASP::: "Plan-ahead" and buy all of my produce at the Farmer's Market.

I might even take it a step further and try to convince myself to actually WALK to the Farmer's Market - but that's more of a long-range goal (since I've only recently regained the ability to walk!).

So anyhoooo...  My stash of sweet potatoes from the Farm-Share delivery was getting a bit overwhelming.  I also had a couple of leeks that were threatening to get mushy. I know I like Potato-Leek Soup - but potatoes don't exactly love me (carbs, ya know?). Sweet potatoes, surprisingly, are lower in net carbs and also lower on the glycemic index. And, frankly, I think sweet 'taters taste better.  So I decided to Google "Sweet Potato Leek Soup" and found this recipe.

But also in the course of my Googling, I discovered that MyRecipes.com has a feature where you can key in all sort of different ingredients and it'll come back with some recipe ideas.  So I tried various combinations of ingredients (including cauliflower and corn) and ended up finding this recipe.

So those two recipes were kind of my starting point for today's creation...

Mmmm! Soup!

QT's Sweet Potato Leek Soup
Yields - appx 6 generous servings

Ingredients

• 2 leeks
• 2 ribs celery
• appx 1-1/2 lbs small sweet potatoes (in my case, appx 11 small spuds)
• 1 shallot (optional - I had it on-hand)
• 1/2 head cauliflower
• 32 oz chicken (or vegetable) stock
• 2-3 cups corn kernels (I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry
• appx 2 TBS Extra Virgin olive oil (I used garlic-infused EVOO)
• garlic sea salt
• white pepper
• Seasoning Salt (whatever brand you happen to like)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• dash of smoked paprika

Instructions

1. Wash and slice the white and light-green parts of your leeks into small "rounds."  I liked the first recipe's suggestion to use the salad spinner for cleaning the leeks after they are sliced (MUCH easier!).  Finely chop your celery and shallot. Coarsely chop your cauliflower.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot (I used my 4.25 qt dutch oven), then add the chopped veggies. Saute lightly on medium heat 'til limp and translucent (the cauliflower won't go limp, but it will begin to soften).  Do not brown your veggies - you just want 'em soft.
3. Peel and slice your sweet potatoes into "coins" while the veggies are limpifying.  Then add the sweet taters to the pot and saute them lightly.
4. Pour the chicken (or veggie) stock into the pot.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and let it blorp for awhile.  I think it took roughly 30-45 minutes for the taters and cauliflower to get truly mushy - but that's what you're going for...
5. Turn off the heat and let it cool just a bit.  Then grab your immersion blender and puree the soup until smooth (that's an optional step).
6. Return the pot to the stove and dump in your frozen corn (mine was frozen solid, so I dumped a sizeable chunk into the pot!).  Cook on medium low 'til the corn is heated.
7. Add the cream, sour cream and cooking sherry.
8. Give it a taste and decide what seasonings it needs.  I used my garlic sea-salt grinder and a combination of Lawry's Seasoning Salt (should be available at any grocery store) and Andersen's Seasoning (which is probably just a California Thing - I bought it at Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant and have not been able to find it online).  It was still a bit bland so I added some white pepper.  Then a large pinch of cardamom (which gave it a bit of a "high note") and a smaller pinch of curry powder.
9. Serve with a dash of paprika for color

Sweet Potato "coins" getting ready to dive into the hot tub!

Overall, it's a very mild (spice-wise) soup, but quite thick and hearty.  And I expect it should freeze well - but I didn't end up with 15-gallons like I normally do!

It really was quite tasty - and definitely worth making again.

Cheers!

Recipe: Low-Sugar Avocado Chocolate Mousse (Work-In-Progress!)

As I've mentioned, I subscribe to a CSA/Farm-Share/Organic Veggie delivery... ("Oh, only about a JILLION times!")

And they have a blog...

And they post recipes...

And one of their recipes made me go "Hmmmm!"

That recipe is here :-)

It's been sitting on my Pinboard for awhile, and I keep buying avocados, and letting 'em sit til they get disgustingly squishy, and throwing 'em out! (Oooops!)

What can I say?  Sometimes I am just not in the mood for Kitchen Witchery!

Well, last night I checked the latest batch of avocados and found them to be IDEALLY soft.  We're talking PERFECTLY squishable so I set about rummaging through the cabinets to find all of the appropriate ingredients (there really aren't many!)

Note: Omit the "Bullet Blender" - go with an Immersion Blender instead (not shown)

And, of course, I wanted to modify it to Low-Sugar so - once again - I am "adapting" the recipe.

Now, if you are a complete Choco-Holic FREAK who simply adores super-rich, super dark, almost-bitter chocolate mousses, you will absolutely LOVE this!

I have to admit, I am not in that particular camp.  I'm more a mild milk-chocolate kinda gal, but anyway - here is what I came up with, and it's pretty damned rich! (I need to cogitate on how to tone-down the bitterness, though...  For my own personal tastes!) (Although, on the plus-side, this stuff is soooo rich, I can only eat 1-2 teaspoonfuls at a time!)

QT's Low-Sugar Avocado Chocolate Mousse
Adapted from Farm Fresh To You

Yield: 4-6 half-cup servings

Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe avocados, halved, peeled and seeded (about 8 oz ea)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli's - Yum!)
• 3/4 cup granulated stevia (or Splenda)
• 2-3 TBS agave nectar (or honey) or more if you like your mousse a little sweeter (I might go "more" next time)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk (or plain almond milk, coconut or regular milk)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (might bump that up next time, and maybe cut-back on the choc-almond milk)
• 1 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used pure vanilla that I picked-up in Mexico)

Instructions:
1.  Cut the avocado into several chunks, squish with a potato masher.

2.  Add the cocoa powder, sweetener, milk and vanilla and blend* until the mousse reaches the desired consistency, adding a little more milk if needed.

3.  Chill before serving.

Give it time for the flavors to meld some, before eating.  The flavor absolutely *does* change.  I was hoping it would "mellow" with time - and it did (somewhat).  But, like I say, this is still SUPER rich!

*Note, I started with my bullet-blender - using the grinder attachment.  Did not work.  Immersion blender in a DEEP bowl is definitely the better choice.  And, when you're using an immersion blender, it really-really helps to have a baby spatula to keep scraping the blender tip (this stuff starts out pretty thick - and if you, stupidly, use your finger to clear the shmear, you'll be smudging chocolate mousse ALL OVER the kitchen!)

More pictures:

Smushing the avocados.

These were absolute PERFECT consistency for squishing!

Mousse, after blending.

Yes, unfortunately, it DOES kinda look like doody!

(Might be better to smear it, all pretty-like, into your final serving dishes!)

Yes, I did make a bit of a mess!

I didn't post the picture of my work-area with all the chocolate-smeary fingerprints! ;-)

Anyway, like I say, if you are totally into the über-rich chocolate mousse thing, you will *definitely* love it!

I still want to go back and calculate the nutritional info.  When/if I do, I'll post it.  Possibly in a future-post if I figure out how to tweak the recipe more to my liking ;-)

Enjoy!!!

Recipe: Low-Sugar Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Oh Gawd yes!!!

So we are being "robbed" of a decent 3-day weekend with utterly Craptastic, overcast, chilly, windy weather.  And it's muggy to boot! (Yes kids, us Wimpy Californians consider 36% humidity to be "muggy!").

No swimming...  Possibly no BBQ-ing (but I think we can huddle up close to the grill long enough to char some pork short ribs!)...

I ended up putting on my June Cleaver heels and pinafore apron (NOTTT) and tackling wifely household duties (while hubbie went up to work on the boat).  Got the dishes up-to-date and started tackling the Metric Ton o' Laundry in the garage :::sigh:::

Somehow I don't think I am "Self Actualizing" today.

But then, there's this:

Hmmm...  What can I make???

So I had some rhubarb from the last Farm-Share delivery.  And I did pick up a couple of baskets of Strawberries...  Wasn't really in a Jamming Mood (we need to eat the jam that we've already got!), so I decided to make a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (or two!).

/sing-song-voice/ "Ohhhhh Google!!!" /end-sing-song-voice/

Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

"Thank you Google!"

I'm not even gonna bother re-posting the recipe because I pretty-much followed it to the letter (except I didn't make my own crust!).  I didn't have lemon zest either, so I just bumped-up the lemon juice to 1 tsp.  Oh, and instead of 1-1/2 cups sugar, I did 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup Splenda...

I'll also note that 3 stalks (appx 14" long) of rhubarb = 2-1/2 cups, as does 1 pint of strawberries.

Everything else is just the same as the original recipe.

Pie #1 is in the convection oven now and I'll post pics when it's all done!

Now.......... Onto QTPi "Tweakage"

When I was making "Grandma's" Pie, I chopped up too much fruit! (:::GASP:::)

So, dang-it-all, I was forced to make a SECOND Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  Yeah, what a shame, right?!

And - major suckage! - I am running out of granulated sugar and do NOT want to go to the grocery store on a Saturday of a major 3-day weekend!

I'm posting the ingredients now, so I don't forget!  Not sure how it's gonna taste - but I'll report back!

QT's Low-Sugar Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Yield: One deep-dish pie

• 2-1/2 cups fresh red rhubarb, chopped into 1/2" slices (3 stalks)
• 2-1/2 cups fresh quartered strawberries (1 pint)
• 1 TBS granulated sugar
• 3 TBS quick-cook tapioca
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 1-1/4 cups Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (which is 50/50 Splenda and Brown Sugar)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBS flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• sprinkling of salt
• 3 TBS butter
• 1 egg white
• Crusts for 9" deep-dish pie

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400*
2. Chop your fruit, add the granulated sugar and let it set and sweat for 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients (except egg, butter and crusts).  Mix thoroughly.  Let it set for another 10-15 minutes.
4. Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom crust of a 9" deep-dish pie crust (mine was frozen, and I let it thaw while I was prepping the fruit). Don't be like me and cram the fruit on 'til it's a heaping pile (virtually guaranteed to leak out!) - just slightly above level is sufficient!
5. Cut your butter into small chunks and blorp it all over the top of the fruit.
6. Moisten the edges of the pie crust with a wet finger.  Add the top crust, trim the excess and pinch the crusts together.
7. Cut a vent hole and/or slits in the top crust.
8. Separate an egg, keeping the egg white.  Mix the egg white with appx 1/2 tsp water and whisk together with a fork.  Lightly brush the crust with the egg-white mixture and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
9. Lower oven temp to 375* and cook for appx 45-50 minutes, til golden brown. (Be smart and spread foil underneath it - just in case it oozes!!!)
10. Allow to cool, then serve and ENJOY!

I don't think that's enough butter ;-)~

All sealed-up and ready for a brushing of egg-whites...

And I saved the best for last:

Can't wait for it to cool!

Addendum: And now a crappy Droid pic of Pie #2 (and the reason you don't want to pile too much fruit inside and what-the-hell, spread some foil underneath it just in case!):

Oops!

Foil - it's a good thing!

May 27 Post-Script:  The first pie ("Grandma's Pie") was delicious.  Maybe just a tad runny, but I think that's just the nature of home-made pies (hubs is accustomed to the store-bought krep).  I also sampled a teeny sliver of "my" pie and it, too, is delicious.  Not a whole lot different from the "Grandma's" pie - to be honest (very slight flavor difference that you could only detect from sampling them side-by-side).  

My only criticism (of both pies) is that they seemed to be just a tad on the sweet side.  The strawberry flavor definitely "shined through" - but the tartness of the rhubarb seemed to be lacking (keep in mind, I *do* like my pies TART, and my taste-buds really aren't accustomed to very much "sweet" at all!).  I think, next time, I might bump-up the lemon to 2 tsp, and dial-back the sweetener by 1/4 cup (or maybe even 1/2 cup - dial-it back to just 1 cup, total), to see if that improves (lol - or worsens) things!  To be honest, I think for most "normal folks," the pies are perfect "As-Is" (hubs certainly didn't complain as he wolfed-down two HUGE slices!)  

I'm just weird and love-love-love tartness!


Okay, one FINAL "P.S." and I swear I'm done! I have to "take back" my recommendation for the Calorie-Counter/Nutrition Calculator that I'd mentioned a week or so ago.  It seems to work fine for "normal" recipes (soups, stews, whatevers), but it doesn't work fer sh*t on Low-Sugar/Sugar-Free Recipes.  Seems that it's "baseline" calorie-counts are based on teeny individual-packets of Splenda, so when you get up to the "1-Cup" range, it *totally* jacks up the calculations.  I've already confirmed that 1 cup of Granulated Splenda has 96 calories - but when I plug in 1 cup for 8 servings, it calculates out to 90 calories *per serving* which ain't right...  Somehow or other, the calculator kept *insisting* that this pie was, like, 700 calories PER SERVING.  Ummmm, NO! (Not *even* with all that butter!)


I'm not having any luck with finding a more accurate Calorie Calculator for my Low-Sugar "Sweets" so - for now - calorie/carb counts shall remain a mystery!!!

Random Ramblings... Upcoming Mental Health Day...

Warning: Rambling-a-Plenty ahead...  And some reminiscing which may, or may not, interest you (more likely to be "interesting" if you're from the San Francisco Bay Area!)...

K?  You have been warned!

* * * * *
Have you ever reached a point, in life, where you just kinda felt "Out of Kilter?"

I think I'm there.  And I think I need a mini Road-Trip, so I'm taking Friday off!

Oddly, what prompted all of this (aside from the stress-induced skin condition bullsh*t which - FINALLY - seems to be showing miniscule signs of improvement) was a delivery from the Farm Share, last week.

Part of the delivery was a bag of fresh(ish) English Peas - the kind you have to "shuck" before you eat 'em.  And I got ALL excited when I saw them.  But, alas, they were *not* as fresh as I like.  No, the shells were kinda soft, and none-too-easy to pop open.  The peas tasted fine, but not quite what I remembered...

See?  When I was a kid (Oh Gawd - yes - here comes the "rambling" part!), my dad used to take me on long drives - always in search of local Farm-Stands (of which there were NONE in our li'l corner of Suburbia on the San Francisco Peninsula).  In the early days, we'd drive down to San Jose (which is where I live now) - and this was "back in the day" BEFORE Silicon Valley even existed!  Yes, it used to be all orchards!  Anyhoo, San Jose was excellent for fresh fruit and "warm-season crops."

In later years, we discovered Half Moon Bay which was about 15-20 miles, due-west, from where we lived.  Hop in the car, go up hwy 92, and head for the coastline.  Drive straight up the hill, leaving civilization behind...  Then down toward Crystal Springs Reservoir (a truly picturesque lake), then a hilly, twisty, woodsy climb, up toward Skyline Blvd.  Once you cross-over Skyline, you head back down the (equally) twisty road and descend into verdant farm country!

Along hwy 92 (which was one of my first "Twisty Road" experiences when I first learned how to drive), there are several family-owned fruit and veggie stands where you can buy all sorts of fresh produce.  Mostly "cool-season" stuff:  Cabbages the size of basketballs (no exaggeration!), artichokes, fruits a-plenty and TRULY fresh peas!!!  We are talking *just* off the vine!

Anyway, we'd generally head out to the coast and have lunch first - at Ketch Joanne's at Pillar Point Harbor.  Only THE BEST fresh seafood "joint" on the coast.  I'm sure there are those who would beg to differ (as to the "BEST" designation - but I am entitled to my opinion, right?).  In looking at their fancy-schmantzy web-site, it looks like they're trying to be all up-scale and "gourmand" but, in my mind, it will always be a "joint!" (which is actually a good thing!  I don't *do* pretension!).  Dad and I were definitely "regulars" there, and he'd always flirt (innocently) with the waitresses.  I *always* ordered the same thing: A fried seafood platter with prawns, scallops and rock cod.  THE Best (cardiologists be damned!).

Then we'd turn around and head back towards home - with me BEGGING to stop and rent horses at one of the local riding stables! (LOL, I think we may have rented horses ONCE!).  All of the good fruit stands were on the right-hand side of the road, coming back (trust me - you do NOT want to attempt a left-turn on hwy 92!).

First stop would generally be Tom and Pete's - which is pretty close to downtown (near the intersection of hwys 92 and 1).  Good variety of produce, and there was a fresh seafood place right next door where you could buy a freshly boiled dungeness crab - we're talking "steaming hot" (which they would crack and wrap for you - on the spot).  You could buy the same thing at Pillar Point, but we usually waited 'til we stopped at Tom and Pete's.

Then we'd continue our drive back.  I think our favorite stop was Marsh and Sons (BTW - none of these places has a website!  I actually kinda like that, too!  But they are Yelp-able).  THAT was where we'd stop to buy peas.  Oh My GAWD were their peas good!!!  Seriously, these peas were mere *minutes* off the vine (oftentimes, we'd wait 'til one of the "pickers" showed up with a fresh box!).

A third stop we'd sometimes make was G. Berta's.  That's where we'd pick-up a basketball sized cabbage, assorted other fruits/veggies, and maybe a small bouquet of flowers...

We'd always buy two BIG paper bags full of peas (at Marsh and Sons).  The first bag rarely made it home because we'd be eating them (and tossing the shucks out the window :::gasp:::) on the drive home.  The second bag usually *did* make it, and we'd give it to my mom who would literally shriek with glee "Ooooh!  PEAS!!!"

We never, EVER cooked 'em.  They never lasted that long!

Another good stop, on the way back, is Half Moon Bay Nursery.  Dad was always big into gardening and he routinely grew tomatoes the size of boxing gloves - again, no exaggeration!  So, I'm pretty sure that's where I got my "Gardening Gene!"  I think we stopped there a couple-three times, over the years.  It wasn't a "regular" stop, but I definitely have fond memories of the times that we did.

I've gone to HMB nursery a few times, on my own, through the years and - no matter what time of year you go - it always seems like a truly Magical Place.  Even on the coldest, rainiest days (which, in HMB, it really doesn't get all THAT cold - since they're so close to the coast), they'll have a wood-stove burning to keep the main greenhouses warm, and they pump-in really nice classical music.  I could spend hours there, just wandering around and taking it all in!  Difficult to describe, actually, but they segregate their flowering-plants by color, and when everything is in bloom...???  Well, it just takes your breath away!

So Bottom Line:  I have decided (all because of the not-as-fresh-as-I'd-like peas from the Farm-Share), that I am WAAAAAY past-due for a drive out to the coast!

So I re-jiggered my schedule and am taking Friday off for a mini-Road Trip.

I checked with P, and it seems she's already got other obligations - so I will go by myself.  And that's okay!

Going to Ketch Joanne's might be a little weird, all alone, and I hope I don't get all verklempt - that might be embarrassing! (I've only been there, maybe three times since my dad passed away in '89).  But I am jonesin' for an artery-hardening fried seafood platter!  Followed by fresh peas! Ohhhh yeah!!!

But I am NOT buying ANY veggie plants at the nursery, k???  I might buy something ornamental for the front-porch by NO FRIGGIN' VEGGIES!!!  NO FRIGGIN' WAY!!!!!

Hopefully, I'll be able to snap some super nice photos...

Quickie PSA: Corn - the easy way!

Made a quick trip over to Giordano Farms (our local farm-stand) and, Oh Goody-Goody-Goody!!!  They've got fresh corn on the cob!!!

Now, IMHO, I think Giordano has, hands-down, THE best corn in the valley...  Possibly the state.  Hell, possibly even ON THE PLANET! (It really is *that* good!).

(Gawd, I just hope it's not Monsanto GMO*/BT corn.  That would totally suck because then I'd have to stop buying it!)

(Annnnnnyyyywaaaaaaayyyyyyy....)

Sadly, Giordanos' home-grown corn is still a couple weeks away, but they did have some other (local) farm's fresh corn and - given the dreadful wintertime "Corn Drought" - well, I bought some!  And it was almost as good!

My FAVORITE way to cook corn is, in the husk, on the grill.  Doing it that way tastes almost as good as "Fair Corn" (which I'm convinced, is made with some sorta Voodoo Magic or something!).

But, since it's lunchtime, and I'm working, I really don't have time to fire up the grill so I'm sharing this video:

Hopefully, by embedding this in the blog, you won't be subjected to YouTube's interpretation of "similar" videos (which appear to be pornographic in nature - Eww!).

Annnnnnywaaaayyyy...  I *just* tried this method and I'm here to tell you: IT WORKS!

Steamy hot and clean as a whistle!  Yummy too!

So there it is!  Back to work..................................

Post-Script: Big "Hooray" for Giordano Farms :-)  I emailed them and they confirmed that the corn that they grow is *not* GMO.  So I feel much better about buying it now....................... 


*BTW - GMO refers to Genetically Modified Organism.  And this is way beyond hybridization.  Just Label It  has more info.  I'm not a full-on nutcase activist or anything, so I'm not gonna rant about it here - but I do like to "choose" what I eat.

Recipe: QT's Creamy Mushroom Madness Soup (Or "There's Fungus Among Us!")

Okay, I absolutely MUST "write this down" before I forget!  Because - DAYUM - I *will* be making this again!

We've got another Farm-Share Delivery coming tomorrow and Hooooly Cow!  I've got some veggies to get rid of! ("Vanquish the Veggies!!!")

One of the leftovers, from my last delivery, was a smallish box of unidentified mushrooms.  I think they are *mostly* Enoki mushrooms, but there were some "fatties" there, too.  No clue what they are! (Note to self:  Keep the friggin' delivery list - otherwise, you won't know what the hell you just cooked!). (Ooh - I think I just figured it out!  I think they're "King Trumpet" mushrooms).

Shroom-O-Rama!

I also had some dried Shiitake Mushrooms in the cupboard...

Annnnnd...  A couple-three different containers of shrooms in the fridge:  Plain ol' white button shrooms, a bag of sliced white shrooms (that weren't looking so "white" anymore) and a bag of Baby Bella sliced shrooms (brown - but they're s'posed to be brown)...  Normally, I don't like cooking with the Baby Bellas (flavor is a little too strong for my liking).  And I've had the dried Shiitakes for-EVAR - just never felt-much like reconstituting them and doing an asian stir-fry (too messy!).

So I ended up consulting Google again (Gee, what a surprise!), and I pinned a couple-three mushroomy-soup kinda recipes, thinkin' I could smoosh 'em together at some point (BEFORE the next boxload of veggies arrived!!!)

Credit where Credit is Due - here are the "inspirations" for my recipe du jour:

Cream of Mushroom Soup - Good, basic recipe - that SURELY puts Campbell's to shame.  But it lacks garlic and I think I want to add Celery to mine...

Celery and Mushroom Soup - This one has celery and cream, and some seasonings that don't normally reside in my spice cupboard!  But it does sound deelish!

Mushroom Celery and Garlic Soup - this one's "Diabetic" and "Healthy" and lacks cream, but it HAS GARLIC!!!...  So definitely a decent foundation!

And then I stole the whole "Cream-Cheese" addition from *this* recipe - 'cuz it was delightfully tasty! (And I credited the OP in that post!).

Now this soup was *somewhat* labor-intensive (had to re-constitute the dried/dried-ish mushrooms, and do a lot of chopping), but overall it really wasn't too bad and only took appx 30 minutes to prepare...

Okay-kay-kay-kay...!  Post the damned recipe already!!!

Home-made Cream of Mushroom Soup - Yummmmmm!!!!

QT's Creamy Mushroom Madness Soup
Yields 6-8 generous servings

Ingredients:

• 4 cups assorted mushrooms, coarsely chopped (I used dried shiitake, enoki, white/button, and baby bellas) (and that 4 cup measure is *after* chopping - just FYI)
• 1 medium-to-largish onion, finely chopped (I think it ended up being close to 2 cups)
• 2 fat cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 2 TBS melted butter
• 1-2 TBS olive oil
• salt
• 1/4-1/3 cup cooking sherry (or white cooking wine - whatever you've got)
• 2-3 tsp worchestershire sauce
• Seasoning Salt, to taste (I used Lawry's Seasoning Salt - which seems to be readily available at any grocery store)
• 4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 4 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4-1/2 tsp dried tarragon

Instructions:

1. Reconstitute your shiitake mushrooms (if you're using dried) by filling a bowl with hot water and dumping appx 10-12 dried shiitake mushrooms in it, 'til they moisten/soften up a bit (takes appx 20 minutes) (Oh, and remove the stems from the Shiitakes, after they're reconstituted, 'cuz, evidently, the stems are no good).  My Enokis were also somewhat-dried-out (having been in the fridge for 2 weeks), so I tossed them into the bowl, as well.  You can "go about your business" while this is happening (I was working at the time!) - or you can start chopping your other veggies.
2. Chop up all of your mushrooms into coarse chunks (appx 1/4"-1/2" cubes, or thereabouts).  Set the shrooms aside...
3. Finely chop your onion, garlic and celery (they are going to end up pureed so, as I've stated in earlier recipes, "The finer the better!")
4. Heat-up 2 TBS butter and 1-2 TBS olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Once melted, add the onions+garlic+celery and cook on medium-low 'til translucent.  Add salt and let 'em sweat....
5. Add the mushrooms and saute on medium-low 'til the mushrooms start to brown (but the onions should NOT brown)...  All-told, maybe 10 minutes...
6. Add the worchestershire and stir.  That should *start* deglazing/de-greasing the pan...
7. Add the cooking wine and stir some more.  That should finish the de-greasing!
8. Stir-in some Seasoning, to taste (you want the mushrooms to "take-up" as much flavor as they can - at this point!). 
9. Add the broth, bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to low and let it simmer, covered, for appx 15 minutes, til everything starts to soften...
10. Add 4 oz (half a brick) of softened cream cheese and let it melt in...
11. Hit the whole mess with an immersion blender (or, let it cool, and put it in a blender - in batches).  Puree til "mostly smooth" (hopefully, the mushrooms will retain their original shape/texture).
12. Heat it up, again, on medium heat and add cream (or half-and-half).  You don't want to bring it to a boil, but you DO want it to heat-up.
13. Add thyme/tarragon, to taste...
14. At this point, you might want to add some kind of thickener (be it corn-starch, or a butter+flour roux).  Personally, I thought it was fine "As-Is"

Serve hot, with a sprig of parsley...

This soup was AMAZINGLY delicious!  Hell, I impressed myself!  It's hearty enough for a cold winter night, but also light enough for a springtime lunch (which is how I enjoyed mine, today!).  I've frozen a couple of servings and might try using it as a "base" for something else, at some point...

It really is a very versatile and AMAZINGLY tasty soup!!!

Post-Script:  I actually found a website where you can plug in the ingredients and # of servings and it'll give you nutritional information.  Website: Calorie Count.*

And here is the info for QT's Mushroom Madness Soup (after I subtracted 1 TBS butter and switched Cream to Half and Half!) (Yeah, I'm a cheater!).

I need to tweak-around with this tool, a bit (and maybe attempt some manual calculations - just to confirm). But I think it's pretty cool!

*P.S. This calculator seems to work just fine for "regular" recipes - but for "sweets" like desserts made with Splenda, the calculations are all jacked-up (their "baseline" calorie/carb counts are based on "individual packets" of Splenda and appear to be severely "rounded-up!").  Be warned! :-)

Recipe: Creamy Farm-Share Soup (Or "Clean-out the Fridge already!!!")

Well...  I switched the Farm-Share/CSA Delivery to "Veggies Only" which, unfortunately (or maybe not!), only comes in a "Medium" (or Large!) box.

The Small "Mixed Fruit and Veggie" box was great, but hubs just doesn't eat much fruit and I *can't* (can't take the sugar-content).  Invariably it would sit around, untouched, until I either made juice out of it (for hubs), or I'd end up tossing it in the composter b/c the fruit flies were beginning to magically appear! (Ick!  What's that in the bottom of the fruit basket? Ewwww!)

So the upshot to all of that is: I am OVERWHELMED with veggies at the moment (and Gawd Help Us when my garden *really* starts producing!!!).

I opened the fridge to assess the situation yesterday...  Hmmm...  Asparagus... Broccoli... Celery... Leeks... Mushrooms...Spinach...

Okay Google, what have you got for me?  I started with "Asparagus Broccoli Soup" and this is where I landed.

Sounds delicious!  I think I'll tweak it!

QT's "Clean-out the Fridge Already" Soup:
This particular batch yielded appx 6-8 "generous" servings (and I think it will freeze well - Yay!)

Ingredients (adjust to suit your refrigerator contents):

• 1 cup fresh asparagus, chopped into 1/2" pieces
• 2 cups broccoli, finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 1 cup fresh cauliflower, finely chopped
• 1 big fat leek, finely chopped (just use the white and light-green parts)
• 1/2 of a small onion, finely chopped (is there a "theme" here???)
• 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic - *minced!* (HA!)
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 handful of fresh spinach (no need to chop)
• 32 oz chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 1-2 Tbs olive oil
• 1/3 cup white cooking wine (although I think cooking sherry might be better)
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 4 oz. softened cream cheese
• Seasonings of your choosing (I used Pea Soup Andersen's "Gourmet" seasoning salt - but that's not readily available unless you happen to live near - or more accurately - drive past a Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant!)
• Dash of paprika

Instructions

1. Finely chop your veggies! (you'll end up pureeing it, so the finer the better)
2. Grab a large pot and saute the leeks, onions and garlic in olive oil, with a little salt, over medium heat, til translucent.  
3. Add the rest of the veggies and saute some more.  Maybe 5-10 minutes, til everything starts to get slightly mushy.
4. Add the cooking wine to deglaze the pan
5. Add the broth, bring to a light boil then reduce heat to low and let it simmer, covered, for appx 20-30 minutes.  Everything should be super-mushy by this point (except for the mushrooms, and that's okay)
6. Hit it with an immersion blender (or let it cool, then whir-it-up in a regular blender).
7. Add cream cheese, let it melt in.  You might need to blend it again.
8. Add the cream.  Simmer for a few more minutes and add seasonings to taste.
9. Serve hot with a dash of paprika

Enjoy!!! (Note: This might also be tasty with a blorp of sour cream - but I don't have any so I can't confirm).

Anyway, it was a nice, mellow soup.  Not too heavy (temps outside are hovering near the 90's - so "hearty soup" really doesn't seem very appealing right now!).  It was actually "just right" for lunch!  

Recipes: Leftover Corned Beef Soup & Creamy Asian Turnip Bok-Choy Spinach Soup!

I *did* mention that Friend-P mentioned that it's National Soup Month, right? Suuuuuure I did!

I am, like, TOTALLY celebrating it! And - what with this frickin' Arctic Cold Weather we're having - it seems most appropo, if you ask me!

Did you know that you can basically clean-out your fridge by dumping the contents into a sauce-pan filled with broth and call it dinner???

I understand that some people already knew that. I - OTOH - did not (What can I say? I was raised by wolves!)! (Srsly! I thought the ONLY soup in the world came from a can labeled "Campbells!")

So please join me in Celebrating this Exciting New Discovery, k???

So the other night, I whipped out my trusty old Crock Pot and we celebrated St Patty's (Paddy's lesser-known cousin, Patricia) Day, early. We had Corned Beef and Cabbage and it was "Pretty Okay."

The thing about corned beef is: it's basically a crap-shoot in terms of the quality of the meat you're gonna get. I *think* it's basically the same "cut" of meat, and it's basically "cured" the same way, and I always "cook" it the same way (low and slow, in liquid)... But sometimes it comes out super-tender; sometimes it's kinda tough; and other times (like Tuesday) it's "somewhere in between." (Let's just call it "chewy!") Might have something to do with the fact that I gravitate toward the "less-expensive" package - but whatEVAH. It tasted good - it just had to be sliced thinly!

Well, Hubs is generally good for "leftovers" for one day - and that's IT. He's not real imaginative with making sandwiches, or assembling multiple ingredients (in fact - come to think of it - I think he skipped leftover CB&C altogether, this time - Hmph!). And - since I honestly don't know *how* to cook in quantities suitable for TWO - well, leftovers tend to overwhelm us most-of-the-time..!

There have been occasions where I've managed to recycle, say, a chicken into Chicken Salad and Chicken & Dumplings. Then - when the dumplings are gone - I've made Chicken Pot Pie from the remainder... Chicken's easy that way! There are LOTS of things you can make with a leftover chicken.

Corned beef? Well, not so much! You can make sandwiches, obviously (and I did!). You can reheat last night's CB&C and have the same dinner, again. Or - you can run it through a meat-grinder with potatoes and make fresh Corned Beef Hash (my dad used to make that - Mmmm!).

Well, I was totally embracing the whole "National Soup Month" thing and figured that add'l cooking-in-liquid couldn't possibly hurt, right? So I figured I'd try to make soup.

QT's Leftover Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup

Yield: Appx 4-5 generous servings (depending upon how much you had leftover, obv!)

Ingredients:

• Leftover Corned Beef, cut into spoon-sized chunks
• Leftover cooked cabbage, chopped to spoon-size
• Leftover baby carrots, cut into thirds
• Leftover turnips (yes, I cooked the CB&C with a large cut-up turnip - instead of potatoes - and it was good!)
• 1/2 "newly" chopped, fresh onion (b/c the leftover onion was just gnarly)
• 1/4 of a head of fresh cabbage, chopped into 1/2-3/4" chunks
• 1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes
• 1/4 of a bag of frozen peas + carrots (or whatever frozen veggies you happen to have on-hand)
• 1 quart Beef broth
• 1-2 Tbs butter
• Smidge of Olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 C Dry red wine
• Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat the butter - with enough Olive Oil to prevent burning - in a large, heavy-bottomed pan (I used my 3-1/2 qt dutch oven). Saute your "fresh" stuff (onion and cabbage) over medium-high heat 'til it starts to limpify and get translucent. Add half of the red-wine (to de-grease the pan).
2. Chop your leftover corned beef, cabbage, carrots, turnips into spoon-sized chunks. Once the onions/cabbage in the pot are limp and translucent, add the leftover corned beef, veggies, and canned/diced tomatoes to the pot. Continue sauteing, stirring constantly, 'til they're hot.
3. Dump-in the Beef Broth. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally). Taste-test it. Add salt/pepper/whatever suits you.
5. Toward the end of cooking: Add frozen peas + carrots (or whatever) (better to add the frozen stuff @ the end of cooking, so it retains it's color/flavor). Add the rest of the red wine...
6. Continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
7. Serve hot.

It really was surprisingly delicious (and I've frozen a couple of servings for later)!

* * * * *

Okay, let's go back to the Farm-Share "Game" now, shall we?

I have, yet, ANOTHER New Love in the Vegetable Realm (Yes, I think this will be a recurring theme: "QT's Most Favorite Vegetable of the Week!"): Baby Turnips!

Again, turnips are "one of those things" that I never *ever* would have purchased of my own volition. And, in fact, Baby Turnips are something you will almost-never find in your local grocery store! But they really are delightfully tasty!

A couple of weeks ago, the Farm-Share sent-along a small bunch of Baby Turnips and - Surprise (NOTTT!!!), more Baby Bok-Choy (which will - most likely - never be named as my "New Favorite Vegetable" - but whatEVAH!).

I've already determined that I actually *do* like Baby Turnips. Although - it looks like I never posted about 'em before (:::gasp!:::). Normally, I'd quarter the baby turnips *and* chop-up the turnip-greens, and saute them in olive oil with a bit of fresh garlic and sea salt - yummmm!!!

Well, this time around, I let the turnips sit in the Crisper (aka "Rotter") too long and the greens were no longer usable.

And - what with this being "National Soup Month" and all - I figured I'd consult Google and see what (if anything) could find in terms of "Turnip Soup."

As luck would have it, I found this: A recipe for Cream of Roasted Turnip Soup with Baby Bok Choy and Five-Spices!

http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/cream-of-roasted-turnip-soup-with-baby-bok-choy-and-five-spices

Coolio!

Well (if you hadn't figured it out by now), I *suck* at following other people's recipes. But I used this as a "starting point" and here is what I ended up with:

QT's Creamy Asian Turnip Bok-Choy Spinach Soup

Yield: 3 generous servings

Ingredients:

• 5 baby turnips, diced
  
• 2 small heads baby bok choy, stems chopped, leaves reserved
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage
  
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh spinach, de-stemmed (combine with bok choy leaves)
  
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh white mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 can (14 oz) chicken or vegetable broth
• Chinese 5-spice (to taste)
• Soy sauce (to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2+ Tbs Hoisin Sauce (from the Asian Food aisle of the grocery-store)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbs Sour Cream
  

Instructions:

1. Dice the turnips into small (1/2") chunks. Chop the bok choy (white) stems into 1/4" strips. Reserve the green leaves and combine with the spinach leaves.
2. Over medium-high heat: Saute turnips and bok choy stems in olive oil (although I think peanut oil might be a better choice), til things begin to soften.
3. Add onions, garlic and ginger. Continue to saute 'til translucent/limp.
4. Add the mushrooms, saute 'til lightly brown.
5. Add the spinach/bok choy leaves and stir 'til reduced.
6. Add the broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 'til everything is soft. Season with Chinese 5-spice, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce and black pepper (to taste).
7. Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes 'til everything is very soft.
8. Remove from heat. Hit it with an immersion blender 'til mostly smooth. At this point, it is going to be a *very* unappetizing shade of dark greenish-brown. Add 2 Tbs of sour cream and 1/2 cup of heavy cream to make it appear more palatable.
9. Reheat and serve hot.

Goes nicely with a "Dark & Stormy!" Spiced rum and Ginger beer! (Ginger BEER - *not* Ginger Ale!)

To be honest, the final product looks a lot like my Creamy Leeky Spinach Mushroom Soup (I forgot to take a picture of today's recipe - but it really does look the same!). But it definitely has a more "Asian" flair to it. And - truly - it is *quite* tasty! One of my better recipes, IMHO :-D

You *do* have to "Let Go of Preconceptions" though.

See? For me, anyway, if I'm eating a "green" soup - my brain is expecting "Split Pea!" but my taste-buds are defying that! (Hubs experienced a bit of that phenomenon with the Leeky/Spinach soup!). But if you set that aside, you'll find that these are both VERY tasty soups!!!

Yep. Me = Happy! Hope you try it and like it, too!

-QT

Recipe: QT's Squashy Butternut Pumpkin Soup

As promised, I am posting the recipe for My Very Own / I-Made-it-Up-All-By-Myself Soup Recipe.

It came out "pretty darn good" I think. I wouldn't call it the "Absolute Bestest Soup in the Whole Wide World," but it was quite tasty - and it cleared out my fridge and countertop! Win-Win!!!

Look at me, gettin' all "Martha Stewart" with the swirly cream and parsley sprig!
(The roasted, salted pumpkin seeds were a very tasty addition!)

QT's Squashy Butternut Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 2 Tbs golden brown sugar
  
• 1 small butternut squash (I forgot to weigh it!)
• 1 small pie-pumpkin (appx 2.5 lbs) (I suspect canned pumpkin would work, too)
• 4-5 shallots, chopped
• 1/2 regular onion, chopped (since I had leftovers, I put 'em in!)
• 3 stalks of chopped celery (mine was kinda squishy - doesn't matter!)
• 6 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 6 small red potatoes
• 2 cans (@ 14 oz) chicken or vegetable broth
  
• 2+ tsp Hungarian-style sweet paprika
• 1 tsp grated (dried/powdered) ginger
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• Nutmeg (a little goes a long way)
• 1 cup Crema Casera, Creme Fraiche or Heavy Cream
  
• Salt & white pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Peel, de-seed and dice the squash (instructions here) and pumpkin (not as easy!) into 1/2" chunks. This is a very labor-intensive (and boring) process so call a friend and chat on the phone while you're doing it - otherwise, you'll want to give up! If you wanted to be lazy, you could probably substitute canned pumpkin (Cheater!) - but I couldn't tell you how much. When it was all said and done, I ended up with 6 cups of pumpkin+squash cubes.
2. Chop the shallots, onions, celery and carrots
3. Peel and chop the potatoes into 1" chunks
4. Heat some olive oil in a large, heavy pan. Add the onions, celery and carrots and saute on medium-low heat 'til the onions start to turn limp and translucent. Turn the heat to low and add sugar and a sprinkling of salt. Let 'em "sweat" for appx 5-10 mins.
5. Turn the heat back up to medium and add the squash/pumpkin chunks, then the potatoes. Stir 'em around and saute for maybe 5 mins 'til they begin to soften
6. Add 2 cans of (chicken or vegetable) broth. Turn heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then turn down to low and simmer 'til the carrots/squash/pumpkin/potatoes get all mushy. (Looks like the carrots are taking the longest...). Might take a couple-three hours.
7. After everything gets mushy, grab your immersion blender (or let it cool and pour it into a blender/food processor, in small batches). Puree 'til thick and smooth.
   
8. Season with sweet paprika, salt & pepper + nutmeg and tarragon, to taste.
9. Add cream, re-heat and serve.
10. Garnish with a swirl of thick cream and a sprig of fresh parsley - or get all crazy and sprinkle some toasted pumpkin seeds on top.

I like how the slow-cooking of the onions brings out a hint of sweetness (of course, the addition of brown sugar doesn't hurt!). And the pumpkin is also naturally sweet. This seems like it should be a fairly light (yet still "filling") soup.

Post-Script: Originally, I thought it might make a good "cold" soup. So I tried it, cold, the next day. I suppose, if it were a bit thinner, it might be okay. OTOH, I've never been much of a "cold soup person" (if there is such a thing!), so I'm just leaning toward "It's better, served hot!"

(Just don't forget the pumpkin seeds! They really are a wonderful addition!)

Gardening Blah-Blah and New Recipe Tease!

So today I figured I'd better get my butt outside and start tackling some of my Garden Chores. Fruit trees were supposed to have been sprayed with dormant oil + copper last month (and again, this month - and yet AGAIN, in February). Our peach-trees *do* have leaf-curl and the spraying is necessary to *slow* it's progression.

I also need to give some serious thought (hell, more than "Thought" - let's try "ACTION") to pruning these bad-boys! But morning temps have been in the low-30's, and I still have a touch of snively-ness! So I'm hesitant to venture out in the morning.

Okay, let's kill some time in the kitchen then, shall we? (I actually *wanted* to kill some time in the Tiki Shack - but I knew if I did that, NO Garden Chores would get-done!!!)

So, okay... Let's tackle the Farm-Share, instead!

I have discovered, yet, *another* New Love: Shallots! Kind-of almost a cross between fresh-garlic and onions. They have the onion tanginess/sweetness, with a touch of garlic pungency (at least that's my interpretation!). They seem like they'll make a very nice addition to today's recipe...

Yummy Shallots!

I think I may have purchased shallots, once, at the grocery store - when I had a recipe that called for them, specifically. And I felt like a complete Doofus because I had to ask the produce dude what/where shallots were!

Shallots will be playing a "supporting role" in today's recipe, but I thought I'd make mention of the fact that I think I really do love them.

And, I said it before (and I'll prob'ly say it again!), I really-really love the Farm-share because it's making me get all SUPER creative in the kitchen. It's almost become a "Game" - trying to stay ahead of the deliveries and figure out New and Exciting Ways to dispose of all these [delicious and healthy] Veggies!

Also - according to Friend-P's Facebook post - it's "National Soup Month" (Who decides these things, I wonder - or maybe I really don't wanna know!), so let's just combine all sorts of good things and try to come up with some MEGA goodness, 'k?!

So TODAY I am "going solo" and will be creating my Very-Own Brandy-New Recipe withOUT consulting ANY other recipes, okay? (Aack! Flying without a net!!!)

Here's what I started out with: Baby pumpkin-pie pumpkin (that I bought, back in October!, thinking I was gonna make pumpkin soup); a small Butternut Squash that came from the Farm-Share about a month ago; Shallots (from yesterday's Farm-Share); some excess onion slices (leftover from the Bacon-Onion Jam); a bunch of carrots; some old, limp celery; and some almost-squishy small red potatoes (I cut off the eyes and I'm gonna plant 'em in the backyard!).

Later, I will post the Final Recipe. Not sure if it will include pics (since I don't want to clutter-up my hard-drive 'til I get a new computer), but I WILL post the recipe later - after I assess it's palatability!

Now, it's early-afternoon and I *hope* the yard has warmed-up enough for me to tackle my garden-chores!

Later................................

Leeky Love! Cream of Leeky Spinach Mushroom Soup

First off: Yes, I am starting to feel *almost* human again. I've still got some lingering sniveling and hacking going on. And I'm still scared to venture OUTSIDE - for fear that The Black Death will come back with a vengeance! Nevertheless, I think - maybe in the next day or two - I should start to feel almost normal again!

And since "Outdoor Activities" are still out of the question, I am back to finding forms of entertainment in the kitchen. Hubbie seems pleased with that - at least!

Yesterday, I made a HUGE vat o' chili. It wasn't particularly noteworthy (mostly came from a pre-packaged dried soup/beans dealy-bob). The only noteworthy quality was that it ended up making well-over a gallon of chili (Holy sh*t!)!

I figured, since the package had Crock Pot Directions, it oughtta fit in my crock pot (I know... "Silly me," right?). Nope, I had to drag out my steam canner and use it as a stock pot b/c I didn't own a pot big enough to contain all that chili! So I am experimenting with "Freezing" chili for future noshing........

Today, I realized that I've got a couple of deliveries' worth of Farm Share Veggies in the fridge (and another delivery coming on Friday!), so I'd best dispense with what I've already got. I *do* hate wasting veggies, after all...

And - because of the Farm-Share - I have discovered a New Love: Leeks (Something I never, ever, would have purchased before)!

Farm-Share Abundance included: Spinach, Onions, Baby Bok Choy, and my beloved Leeks. I also had an 8 oz package of fresh mushrooms that wasn't gonna stay fresh much longer. I figured I'd throw everything together and make some kinda soup. And, to be honest, I am mighty pleased with the results!

QT's Cream of Leeky Spinach Mushroom Soup

Unfortunately, I don't have *exact* measurements (like cups or oz), this is one of those recipes where you just kinda toss in whatever you've got! But if you scroll the the bottom, I have kinda/sorta "condensed" the recipe into something almost-usable!

First, remove the roots and green leaf/stem/whatevers off of 3 good-sized leeks and slice 'em into thin little donuts. You only want to use the white and pale green part of the leeks. Toss (better yet - Compost!) the roots and stems.

Chop up 1/4 of a yellow sweet onion and add that - if you are so inclined.

Then, separate the green-leafy parts from the white stalks of a head of bok-choy. Set the leafy parts aside and chop up the white stalks into small, 1/4" wide strips.

Then mince a couple of cloves of garlic.

Leeks and Bok Choy get sauteed first

Then, slice up the bok-choy leaves into smaller (spinach-sized) pieces. And rinse and remove the stems from the spinach, Combine all the leaves together and set 'em aside for now...

Then slice up your 8 oz of mushrooms and set those aside as well...

Spinach and Mushrooms, waiting patiently

Now heat up some Olive Oil in a medium to large sauce pan (I opted for my large dutch oven - after yesterdays Chili Overload!). Add the Leeks, onions, garlic and bok choy stalks to the olive oil and saute on medium heat 'til everything is starting to get limp and translucent - but not brown.

I ended up adding a tablespoon of sugar and a sprinkling of sea salt, then turned the heat to low and let it sit and "sweat" til everything was pretty limp, but not brown or crispy (maybe 5-10 mins?)...

Feelin' flaccid!

Then add your leafy stuff and mushrooms and continue to saute on medium heat. Heat, stirring constantly, 'til the leaves get all limp and shrively, and the mushrooms start to brown.

At this point, you might want to add a sprinkle or three of your favorite seasoning salt...

It's all steamy (not blurry!), and it smells divine!

Then add appx 1/4-1/2 cup of white cooking wine to deglaze the pan (burn off the oiliness).

Add a couple of 14.5 oz cans of broth. I opted for chicken broth, but vegetable broth would be just as good...

Blorp blorp!

At this point, I let everything simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes. I wanted everything to get super-soft and gushy.

The next-to-last step was grabbing my immersion blender and pureeing everything until it was a thick and fairly smooth consistency. The leeks and leafy veggies got obliterated, but the mushrooms wouldn't fit under my immersion blender - which was actually kinda cool! I like the mushroom "chunks!"

The final step was adding a cup of crema casera: Smooth, thick table-cream that I found in the refrigerated "Mexican Food" section of the grocery store. It's about the consistency of sour cream - only it's not sour (although you could probably use sour cream. Or even regular "heavy cream").

Return to the stove and heat for a few more minutes, then serve...

Deeeeeelish!

QT's Cream of Leeky Spinach Soup (Recipe sans commentary!)

Makes 4-5 generous servings

Ingredients

• 3 large leeks - roots and dark-green stems removed. Chop the white/light green parts into into thin slices
• 1 medium-sized head of baby bok choy
• 1/4 of a sweet yellow onion - finely chopped (optional)
• 2 cloves of fresh, minced garlic
• 2 cups (appx) of fresh spinach - stems removed (it was a generous "bunch" of spinach)
• 8 oz of sliced fresh white mushrooms
• 1 Tbs white sugar
• 1/4-1/2 cup of white cooking wine
• 2 cans (14.5 oz) of Chicken or Vegetable broth
• 1 cup Crema Casera (or heavy cream)
• Seasoning Salt (optional)
• Sea salt and fresh-ground pepper (to taste)
• Olive oil

Separate the leaves from the stalks of the bok choy. Reserve the leaves. Chop the bok choy stalks into smallish (1/4") chunks.

Heat olive oil in a large sauce-pan. Over medium heat, saute the leeks, bok choy stalks, onion and garlic 'til translucent. Turn heat down to low, add 1 TBS of sugar and a sprinkling of sea-salt. Let the mixture "sweat" for appx 5-10 minutes 'til limp.

Turn the heat back up to medium and add the leafy greens and mushrooms. Saute 'til the leaves are limp and the mushrooms are starting to brown. Season with salt, pepper, seasoning salt, to taste.

Add 1/4-1/2 cup of white cooking wine to burn-off the excess oil.

Add broth. Bring to a light boil then immediately turn down to low and let simmer for 20-30 minutes until everything is soft.

Remove from heat and - using an immersion blender (or food processor or blender) puree the mixture 'til fairly smooth and (hopefully!) thick.

Add one cup of cream and stir into the soup. Re-heat, then serve.

This is a very-very tasty and surprisingly filling soup!