Can-O-Rama

Last week, I awoke to a story on NPR about canning featuring a blogger new to me, Mrs. Wheelbarrow. It was a great piece, full of enthusiasm about the serendipity of the farmers' market and the simple joy of preserving fresh fruits and vegetables for another day. I've already made pickles this summer, but Mrs. Wheelbarrow inspired me to want to do more. I was particularly intrigued by her simple, but beguiling recipe for fig confiture. As luck would have it, I found some beautiful figs on sale at Whole Foods this week, and so I made a batch.

The figs are soaked in boiling water to soften, quartered, and married with some thinly sliced lemon, honey, and a bunch of thyme. The resulting loose jam is divine with a good cheese. A lovely gift for your favorite lover of food.

I had so much fun with the confiture, that I followed up with a variation on Mrs. Wheelbarrow's cardamom peach pie filling. The peaches, which have been particularly fragrant this year, are just ending here in the midwest. I did not have any clear gel on hand, so my peaches loosely swimming in syrup, but I figure I can thicken them when I use them, or not depending on the recipe. Wonderful stuff! Thanks for the inspiration, Mrs. Wheelbarrow!

Late Summer Dinner Party

Nick and I got up early and headed to the Green City Market to see what looked good. It was only 7:30 a.m., but the market was already quite crowded, and we spent an enjoyable hour wandering, tasting, talking with purveyors, and filling our market bags. We were having guests for dinner; here was the menu:

Appetizers

Marcona almonds
Manchego cheese
Crocodile tears from Capriole Goat Cheese
Assorted grapes from Mick Klug Farm

Dinner

Smoked turkey
Marshall grilled for five hours on the rotisserie over hardwood. It was moist, smoky, and delicious.

Watermelon, feta, tomato salad with basil vinaigrette
A nice, late summer salad. Used heirloom tomatoes from the market and basil from my garden.

Zucchini and summer squash with chili, mint and toasted almonds
Found some beautiful yellow squash at the market. OK recipe, could have skipped the almonds.

Sweet potato gratin with creme fraiche, bacon, and onions
A fantastic recipe, sweet and savory, and perfect with the turkey. Beautiful fresh sweet potatoes from the market.

Dessert

Peaches poached with basil, served with vanilla ice cream
Absolutely delicious, prepared ahead, light and fresh dessert. Would use more basil next time. Would be outstanding with some creme fraiche or lightly sweetened marscapone cheese.

Stuffed Pattypan Squash

On the way home from dropping my son at camp this weekend, we stopped at a farm stand at the side of the road and found these beautiful pattypan squash for only 50 cents/apiece. I usually find much smaller versions of pattypan squash at the market; these bigger specimens were begging to be stuffed.


Inspired by a recipe of Laura Calder's that I saw on TV over the weekend, I thought it would be nice to combine the smokiness of bacon, the bitterness of swiss chard, the saltiness of almonds, and the sweetness of raisins in a soft, custardy filling. An (almost) meatless Monday. With a warm baguette, a full, delicious meal.



Stuffed Pattypan Squash
4 large pattypan squash
5 slices bacon, chopped
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 bunch swiss chard, leaves cut away from stems and chopped, stems chopped
1/2 cup raisins
3 eggs
1/2 cup crème fraiche
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the tops off of the squash and use a melon baller to scrap out the inside, creating a space for the stuffing. Rub the insides and the tops of the squash with olive oil, salt and pepper the squash, and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saute pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Set aside on a paper towel to drain; in the reserved bacon fat, saute the shallots until translucent; add the chopped swiss chard stems and cook until partially softened. Add the chopped leaves of chard and cook until wilted. In a small saucepan, toast the almonds until lightly browned. Combine the cooked chard/shallots, bacon, almonds, and raisins. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and add the crème fraiche; salt and pepper to taste.

Now for the excitement. Stuff the parbaked squash with the chard/bacon/almond mixture. Pour the custard/egg mixture into each squash, dividing among each. Top each squash with the shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until squash is cooked through, custard is set, and cheese is melted and beginning to brown on top. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.

Beautiful Blossoms

I found some zucchini blossoms at the grocery earlier this week and bought them just because they were so beautiful. Not sure what to do with them, I asked my Twitter followers for suggests, and got some good ideas. Ultimately decided to stuff them with cheese and herbs, dredge them in a light batter, and quickly fry them. I don't often fry, but this seemed like it would be relatively simple and tasty treat for the family.


Squash Blossom Treats

12 squash blossoms
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup Parmesan
2 tablespoons basil leaves, chopped
vegetable oil
1 cup water
3/4 cup seltzer

Mix the ricotta, Parmesan, and basil; salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Carefully open the blossoms and remove the stamens. Stuff each blossom with a spoonful of cheese mixture; twirl the top of the petals to seal. Refrigerate the stuffed blossoms for half an hour to firm them up a bit. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, mix the flour and the seltzer water into a batter. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Heat about 3/4-inch of vegetable oil in a shallow pan until hot enough to fry. Test the oil by dropping a few drips of batter into it; the batter should immediately float and begin to brown up. Dredge each stuffed blossom in the batter, making sure to cover it completely, and then fry, one or two at a time, until the batter is crisp and golden. Remove to a surface lined with newspaper; lightly sprinkle with salt while still hot from the pan. Serve immediately.

Rhubarb Chutney

I stopped by the Chicago Farmstand on Friday afternoon to buy a cookie, and ended up with over $30 worth of fresh produce and cheese. The last of the spring rhubarb was irresistible, and I bought two bunches not sure what I was going to do with them. This weekend is my dear husband's birthday, so I decided to make a rhubarb chutney to top the thick-cut pork chops we grilled for dinner. A tasty, savory way to use rhubarb.



Rhubarb Chutney

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 purple onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
5 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar

Saute the onion in a scant amount of vegetable oil until translucent but not brown. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and ginger, and stir over the heat until just fragrant. Add the rhubarb, brown sugar, and vinegar, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb falls apart and the chutney takes on the consistency of a chunky applesauce. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Kumquat Vinaigrette

Nick and I recently had a wonderful afternoon in the kitchen at Custom House Tavern, part of a package I had gotten at a charity auction at the school's annual benefit. Four children (and their parents) were invited to cook lunch with the staff, which we later all enjoyed at a lovely table in the restaurant. Knowing how much Nick enjoys cooking, I thought that we would have fun, and we did.


Chef Aaron Deal, a wonderful young chef, worked with Nick on the salad course. He taught Nick how to make a deliciously piquant and citrusy kumquat vinaigrette, which they used to dress a salad composed of greens, shelled pistachios, Prairie Fruits Farm fresh chevre, and edible flowers. Easily the best dish of a fine luncheon.

Happily, there was quite a bit of leftover dressing, which the chef kindly shared with us. So Nick recreated the salad on Memorial day at a party with friends. In lieu of edible flowers, he used some chive flowers snipped fresh from our balcony garden. Delicious!

Thanks again to the wonderful staff at Custom House Tavern. Looking forward to a date night here soon!

Why I Cook

Having just returned to full-time work, I have not been cooking as elaborately as I had been, although I am still preparing meals for my family almost daily. Although I miss that relaxed hour or two preparing a delicious meal, and I am confident I will find my way to a new weekday cooking style that may not be gourmet but will be a cut above 30-Minute Meals.

As I struggle to find a new normal, and inspired by Michael Ruhlman's recent blog post, here are some of the reasons that I cook.

• I love to eat. It is one of life's greatest pleasures.
  
  
• I enjoy sharing good food with other people. Especially family and good friends. Meals are an important social activity and build bonds between us. My cooking is an expression of my love from those I care most about. And I am making memories at the table every day with my husband and my children.
  
  
• It is relaxing. At the end of a day working with my head, I enjoy an hour spent working with my hands and my other senses (smell, taste) to create something savory.
  
  
• It is fun. There is always a new challenge available--a new cuisine, a new dish, a new ingredient.
  
  
• It is a great way to teach your kids about culture--their own and others. One day, we try an Asian spring roll or an Indian curry and imagine faraway lands; the next day. we enjoy the apple pie recipe handed down from grandma and remember where we came from.
  
  
• It is important to sustaining my family's health and well-being. I know that the food I prepare is (usually!) healthy and fresh. My children are learning to eat a variety of foods, including lots of fruits and vegetables. And I am saving money by cooking at home more and eating out less.

Weeknight Pozole

Here is a comforting, quick, and healthy weeknight meal that can be thrown together from pantry staples. Although not traditional, I like a mix of hominy and fresh corn in my pozole. This time of year, avocados are plentiful and inexpensive, and they make a lovely garnish on this soup. You can also crumble a few tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl to fortify the soup.

Weeknight Pozole

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 white onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 box chicken stock
4 cups water
1 can tomato paste
4 chicken breasts
1 30-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn

garnishes: thinly sliced radishes, chopped ripe avocado, crumbled queso fresco, chopped cilantro

In a large soup pot, saute the onions in the oil until they have softened. Add the garlic, chili powder, and oregano, and stir over heat until the spices become fragant. Add the chicken stock, water, tomato paste and the chicken breasts. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and let cool for a few minutes until it can be handled. Using two forks, shred the chicken; return it to the pot. Add the hominy and the corn, and heat the whole thing through. Serve, garnished with chopped avocado, queso fresco, thinly sliced radishes, and chopped cilantro as garnishes.

Roasted Cauliflower-Spinach Risotto

It's been a tough winter (emotionally, not meteorlogically), and I craved comfort food tonight. Nothing is more satisfying to me on a sad, cold night than a bowl of risotto. It's like savory hot cereal for dinner.

I had a cauliflower cooling its heels in the crisper, which I had planned to roast. Roasting brings out the sweetness in most vegetables, and cauliflower, which is abundant in January, will surprise you. Why not toss it into the risotto? I added a bunch of spinach for some color and green goodness, and tossed in a generous handful of cheese and some cream to balance that goodness with some evil. Delicious.


Roasted Cauliflower-Spinach Risotto

1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 yellow onion, sliced thickly
1 bunch spinach, washed and chopped
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
6 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup cream



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss cauliflower and onion on a large cookie sheet with a little olive oil. Salt and pepper. Roast in the oven, tossing occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter and saute the shallot until softened. Add the rice and saute until translucent. Add a cup of the stock, and stir over low heat until most of the stock is absorbed. Continue adding the stock a cup or so at a time. With the last addition, toss in the spinach and cook and stir until the spinach begins to wilt. Add the cauliflower and the onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. When most of the last bit of stock has been absorbed, toss in the cheese and stir to combine. Add just enough cream to loosen the risotto to desired consistency. Serve.

Dishes Men Like

Cleaning out my father's kitchen yesterday, I found this cookbook. "Dishes Men Like: New and Old Favorites, Easy to Prepare...Sure to Please," looks to have been prepared by Lea & Perrins, because every one of the 168 recipes in the book features Worcestershire sauce.

The introduction sets the stage:

If you have husband who likes to cook, pamper him! You are lucky indeed, even though you find yourself only a fetch-and-carry handmaiden while his genius glows. But men are wise, not one in a thousand really wants to take over the job. They usually have a few specialties to produce on occasion and leave the rest of the cooking to us.

So, what to do? It goes without saying that most women choose dishes men like.

So, what do men like? According to this book, during the "Cocktail Hour," men like Sardine Stuffed Eggs and Mystery Cheese Ball Spread. For dinner, men like Jellied Chicken Loaf and Rink Tum Diddy Rabbit. Steaks on the barbecue are always good; What Men Like recommends 2-inch thick steaks, cooked 18 minutes on each side for medium, 20 for well done. (I'm thinking that, after 40 minutes on the grill, you can use your steak as fuel for your next barbecue.)



And if your man had a few too many cocktails last night, try the Pick-Me-Up:

Note for husbands! Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce if taken on "the morning after" will immediately set you right for a good day's work. Here are two suggestions:

• Add 2 teaspoons Lea & Perrins to a raw egg, stir and swallow.
• Add 2 teaspoons Lea & Perrins to an 8-ounce glass of tomato or sauerkraut juice and drink contents as quickly as possible.

Double-Ginger Spice Cookies

I baked all of my usual treats over the holidays this year--sugar cookies, walnut-cardamom balls, snickerdoodles, chocolate-walnut bars. But my favorite was this little ginger snap.

I found a recipe for a spicy little cookie on Epicurious. The recipe called for vegetable shortening, but I was shopping at Whole Foods, and all I could find that might suit was coconut oil, which is solid at temperatures below 76 degrees. I crossed my fingers and tried it. Delicious! The cookies were crisp on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. And the coconut oil added a wonderful, exotic fragrance and flavor to the cookie. One small substitution that had a big impact on the finished product, and a cookie that I will bake again.

Ginger Spice Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsulphered molasses

Combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a bowl. Add the chopped crystallized ginger, and stir to coat with the flour mixture. In a mixing bowl, beat the brown sugar, coconut oil, and butter until fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until just blended. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll spoonfuls of dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Roll the balls lightly in granulated sugar to coat, and place on the cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes until the cookies begin to crackle on top but are still soft.

Lefse

I had never heard of lefse until I went to college in Minnesota. Every year at St. Olaf during Christmas Festival, we were treated to a seasonal Norwegian meal that included lefse, gjetost, pickled herring, a warm fruit soup called sotsuppe, a creamy porridge called rommegrot, and the dreaded lutefisk, a dried cod prepared with lye that has the consistency of Jello. Of all these, the lefse was a favorite. A thin flatbread made with boiled potatoes, we ate it slathered with butter, sprinkled with brown sugar, and rolled up like a cigar.

Making lefse requires some special equipment, including a potato ricer, a lefse griddle, a special rolling pin, and a stick for moving the lefse to and from the grill. The trick is to keep as little flour in the dough as possible, while rolling the lefse as thinly as you can. The dough is very tender and tears easily.

With some help from a Minnesotan friend (thank you, Kate!), I found a good recipe for lefse dough and gave it a whirl this morning. My first few pieces were a little raggedy, but I quickly got the hang of it, and the last batch turned out actually quite good. In addition to the butter and sugar version, I think these would be lovely with a bit of cream cheese and smoked salmon. Looking forward to sharing this unique seasonal food with friends and family.



Lefse

Prepare dough a day ahead.

5 cups of boiled Idaho potatoes, riced
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt

Mix together and chill overnight.

To prepare lefse, preheat griddle to 500 degrees.

Take 2 cups of the potato mixture and mix in a scant 1/2 cup flour. (Put the rest of the dough back in the refrigerator, it needs to stay cold)

Sprinkle your workspace with a generous amount of flour. Make fist-sized balls of dough - or smaller - and roll each ball out thinly. Slide the lefse stick under the rolled-out dough, and gently slide it back and forth to ensure that it is not stuck to your work surface. Slide the stick down the middle of the dough, and transfer it to the the preheated griddle. It's best to slide one side down onto the griddle, and then rotate the stick to drop the other side onto the griddle.

Cook until slightly browned; flip to the other side and cook until done.

Place between clean kitchen towels to cool. When all are cooled, fold and package in Ziploc bags. Lefse freezes well.

Dreams Come True

I had a dream on Monday night that we had onion soup for dinner. I had bought a beautiful bag of yellow onions at Costco this weekend, and had most of the other ingredients on hand, so I decided that's what we would eat on Tuesday for dinner.

This is a simple, but time-consuming recipe. Instead of cooking the onions on the stovetop, most of the cooking is done in the oven. I cheated a little and shortened the oven cooking time, but the final soup was still quite flavorful.

I served this with some roasted delicata squash, simply dressed with butter, salt and pepper. The sweet, creamy squash was a lovely foil to the salty, cheesy soup. Altogether satisfying.



French Onion Soup

6 large yellow onions, halved, peeled, and sliced
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup red wine
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups beef stock
5 springs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 baguette
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the sliced onions in a heavy soup pot; top with the butter and the salt. While the onions are cooking, make toasts. Slice the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. Paint each slice with olive oil and place on a cookie sheet. Bake until the toasts are just beginning to brown on one side; turn, and bake again until the other side is lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and reserve. After the onions have been cooking for 1 hour, remove them from the oven and stir; the onions will have wilted and given off much of their moisture. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on the stovetop over a medium flame. Cook and stir the onions until all of the moisture has evaporated and the onions begin to darken and caramelize. Add the wine. Cook and stir until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the stock, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. Remove the thyme and the bay leaf. Ladle the soup into oven-proof bowls. Top with toasts and shredded Gruyere cheese. Place under the broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Turkey Meatball Soup

Here's another cheap dinner largely from the pantry. My son pronounced this a winner after slurping down two bowls!

I've been working a lot with ground turkey lately; it is an affordable, healthy, and versatile protein. I would have liked to add some chopped fresh parsley to the meatballs, but I didn't have any on hand. You could use any combination of vegetables for this soup--celery, spinach, zucchini would all be good.



Turkey Meatball Soup

1 slice bread
1/2 cup milk
1 lb ground turkey
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 leek
1 onion
2 carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups uncooked macaroni
1 1/2 cups green beans

Cut the bread into small cubes and place in a saucer with the milk. In a medium bowl, combine the ground turkey, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. Squeeze most of the milk out of the soaked bread, and crumble the bread into the meat mixute. Combine well. Form into 3/4-inch meatballs and set aside. Prepare the vegetables. Slice the white part of the leek in half lengthwise and clean well under running water. Quarter and dice the leek. Peel the carrot and cut into small dice. Chop the onion and cut the green beans into 1/2-inch pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, and saute the leek, onion, and carrots for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the meatballs to the soup; simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and the green beans and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the pasta is done. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese for a garnish.

Homemade Gnocchi

I've been afraid to make gnocchi. I'm really a novice pasta maker, and I was fearful my first effort would culminate with chewy little bullets of starch. But recently purchased a potato ricer in anticipation of making lefse over the holidays, and I had a free afternoon and a bag of potatoes, so I decided to give homemade gnocchi a try.

I followed Heidi Swanson's recipe, except that I used a potato ricer instead of a fork to break up the boiled potatoes. I just about burned my fingertips off peeling the hot potatoes. In addition, I had some trouble scoring the nuggets with a fork; my final gnocchi were a little misshapen and lumpy looking.

Appearance aside, the gnocchi were delicious! Light little pillows of goodness, velvety in texture, with a delicate potato flavor. Much better than any store-bought product and surprisingly good for my first effort.

I dressed my gnocchi with a rich tomato-vodka-cream sauce, accessorized by a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. My family lapped it up.

Tomato-Vodka-Cream Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup vodka
3/4 cup heavy cream

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over a medium flame. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Don't let the garlic burn! Add the tomatoes; smash the whole tomatoes up with the back of a spoon in the pot. Add the basil leaves. Reduce the heat to a simmer; cover and cook for 15 minutes. Uncover; add the vodka. Cook for an additonal 5 minutes until most of the alcohol has burned off. Add the cream and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Autumnal Chicken Soup

This week I've been challenged to cook from my pantry as much as possible in an effort to cut my grocery bill. I'm reaching the end of the line with proteins from the freezer, and I'm limited to the few root vegetables left in my crisper drawer. I invented this light but satisfying soup from what remained in my refrigerator. Roasting the sweet potato before adding it to the soup adds a lovely, burnt-sugar complexity to the dish. Barley is more toothsome than pasta and a nice textural contrast to the soft sweet potato. The orange zest brightens the soup and subtly reminds diners of summer as fall begins to wane.


Autumnal Chicken Soup

4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
2 chicken breasts
3 medium sweet potatoes
1 cup barley
1 orange

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large soup pot, combine the chicken stock, water, and chicken breasts. Heat over a medium flame until the liquid begins to boil; reduce to a low simmer. Cook until the chicken is done, approximately 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, in another pot, combine the barley with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the barley is tender, about 30 minutes. While the barley and the chicken are cooking, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes. Toss them on a sheetpan with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven until the sweet potatoes begin to brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve. Drain the cooked barley and reserve. Remove the chicken breasts from the broth and let cool on a cutting board for a few minutes. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat off of the bones and shred into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken, barley, and roasted sweet potatoes back to the stock. Zest the orange and add that to the soup. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Variation: Add a bunch of chopped spinach or swiss chard at the finish and cook until wilted.

White Chili

I'm not a big fan of traditional chili. It can be pretty heavy, heartburn-inducing, and sometimes greasy. Years ago, when my mother lived in Park City, Utah, I was introduced to a delicious white chili made with turkey by the Deer Valley Ski Resort. Although I haven't made it in years, I thought it might be a good dish for Halloween, because it would hold well and could be personalized by each of our guests with toppings of their choice. Previously, I made this with the mix sold by the resort; this time, I thought I'd try making it from scratch. Instead of turkey meat, I used ground turkey, which is readily available and affordable. I also packed as many vegetables in as I could, for a lighter, more healthful chili. With a side of fresh-baked corn muffins, this is an easy, crowd-pleasing meal.



Deer Valley Turkey Chili

2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 medium Anaheim chilies, seeded, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2 leeks (white part only), chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 teaspoons salt
1/8 cup sugar
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 29-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup corn flour

Brown the turkey in 2 tablespoons of the butter. Drain and reserve. Melt the remainder of the butter and saute the chiles, onion, red bell pepper, leeks, and garlic until softened, about 7 minutes. Return the turkey to the pan. Add the spices (oregano, cayenne, cumin, coriander, and salt), and stir over the heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes at a low simmer. Add the corn and the black beans and heat through. Add the corn flour to thicken the chili. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chopped cilantro.

Comfort from the Pantry

Early this week, I woke up with a sore throat and, as the day went on, I began to feel worse and worse. Sickness calls for soup. But I was snuggled up under a duvet on the sofa and in no shape to trudge to the market. The solution: a comforting, hearty tomato soup made entirely from ingredients on hand and in the pantry. This is a simple recipe that can easily be made grand with the addition of a fancy garnish. It is a very happy dinner served with open face cheese toasts and a glass of milk. I'm feeling better already.


Pantry Tomato Soup

1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 springs fresh thyme
4 14-ounce cans chopped tomatoes
1 32-ounce box chicken stock
1/2 cup cream or half and half

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter in the olive oil. Saute the onion over medium heat until translucent. Add the tomato paste and the garlic, and saute for one minute until fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, and herbs, and heat to a slow simmer. Cook, uncovered, for half an hour. With an immersion blender, whiz the soup until velvety smooth. Add the cream and heat through. Serve.

Lovely garnishes (choose one): chunks of feta cheese, homemade croutons, a drizzle of basil oil....

Autumn Delight

The weather is turning cool, and I am turning to stews and soups and other warming comfort foods for dinner. I stopped at the Chicago Farmstand on the way home from work this afternoon for inspiration, and found a nice butternut squash and a pretty bunch of rainbow Swiss chard. Pulled some arborio rice and a box of chicken stock from the pantry, and I whipped up this soothing (and inexpensive!) meal. The sweetness of the roasted squash pairs nicely with the slight bitterness of the greens. The kids scraped their bowls clean and pronounced it a winner.



Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Swiss Chard

1 butternut squash
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel and core the squash and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Spread in a single layer on a large sheetpan. Sprinkle with olive oil and mix until the pieces are well coated. Salt and pepper. Roast until the edges of the squash cubes begin to brown, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, trim the stems off of the chard and chop them into small pieces. Chop the leaves and keep separate.

When the squash is finished roasting, remove from the oven to cool. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and the chopped chard stems until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the rice and cook until the rice begins to absorb some of the oil. Add the stock, about 1 cup at a time; stir while the rice cooks; when most of the liquid has been absorbed, add another cup of stock. When the stock has been fully absorbed, add 1 cup of the water and cook down. Just before adding the last cup of water, add the chopped chard leaves; cook and stir. When the water has been mostly absorbed, add the roasted squash and heat through. Add the Parmesan and stir until well incorporated. Taste for seasoning and serve, passing additional Parmesan at the table.

Serve six; less if your children are voracious eaters like mine.

Beets Can't Be Beat

I stopped at the Chicago Farmstand on my way home from work this afternoon, and they had some lovely beets from a local farmer on sale. I can't resist beets; they can be prepared sweet or savory and marry well with so many other flavors. I knew I had a small chunk of feta at home in the fridge, the rest of this salad I threw together with found ingredients. A little chopped parsley would be a nice addition to this salad.

Impromptu Beet Salad

3-4 medium beets
1/2 English cucumber
1/2 yellow onion
4 oz feta cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim the root and greens from each of the beets. Place one beet on a piece of foil; drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Fold the foil around the beet to seal in a hobo pack. Repeat with remaining beets. Place the hobo packs on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for an hour; beets are done when you can easily pierce them with the tip of a knife, like a baked potato. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, halve the cucumber and thinly slice it. Thinly slice the onion as well. When beets are cool enough to handle, remove them from the foil and peel the skins off. This will turn your fingertips a lovely shade of pink. Quarter the beets and slice. Combine the beets, cucumber, and onion in a bowl; toss with the lemon juice and olive oil to taste. Crumble the feta over the salad, toss again, and salt and pepper to taste. May be served chilled or at room temperature.