We go through a lot of spices. I like to use fresh ground, black pepper. It is better for you and more tasty. We don’t have the budget or the space for those ornamental, high end pepper grinders, but to constantly be buying throwaways from McCormick isn’t that economical or ecological either. Here is a solution:
Easy way to refill a McCormick pepper grinder.
Warm the black plastic grinder top a little with a hair dryer.
This makes the plastic pliable enough that you can pull
the black plastic grinder top off the glass bottle with your
hands. To reattach push back on until it snaps over the
glass bottle lip.
This works for the salt grinders, as well, obviously.
This is the recipe for another dish we served at our rent party. It is a meatless chilé with corn. It is a hearty vegan dish.
4 cups cooked kidney beans
1 cup finely chopped onions
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups diced, canned tomatoes
1 jar Simply spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup or more of frozen corn
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Sauté vegetables. Then add tomatoes & spices. Cook awhile. Add beans & sauce. Cook more.
Several people asked for Bethann’s recipe for meatless shepherd’s pie. It is from the Foods for Paradise cookbook. It did have milk in it, in the mashed potatoes, since it was cheese week, but it could be made without.
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons oil
1 pound, cooked, chopped broccoli
1 package chopped spinach, thawed
1 sweet. red pepper, diced
pepper to taste
garlic to taste
4 carrots, shredded
3 cups mashed potatoes (We used instant made with milk and butter.)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
15 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes.
Optional:
Shredded Swiss cheese or grated Parmesan or soy cheese for on top.
Sauté onion and garlic in oil. Add vegetables, spices and tomato, and stir. Simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender crisp. Put vegetables into 9″ x 13″ greased baking dish. Spread potatoes over the top. Spread shredded Swiss cheese on top, to taste. Shake paprika over the top. Bake at 350° about 30 minutes, until heated through.
You may use soy cheese as a vegan alternative.
Once a month, usually a Tuesday, a bunch of ladies, mostly from St. Philip, go out to dinner somewhere together. This practice started on the occasion of Bethann’s birthday two years ago. I had had a terrible staph infection on my neck and reactions to medications to treat it. Another lady had lost her husband in October. It had been a pretty grim time. A friend decided it would be a good time to have a good time. So a bunch of them took Bethann out to dinner. They had such a good time, they decided to do it again the next month, etc. It is now a regular event: Ladies’ Night Out.
So I got the idea to have a couple of the guys over to our house to make manly meals and watch manly movies while the ladies went out. We have watched “Monty Python’s: The Holy Grail”, “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Hannah”, “The Man Who Would Be King”, The Grammy Awards, a Leonard Cohen concert, a Bob Dylan documentary, etc. We have eaten “turtle burgers” (recipe by Southern Culture on the Skids), hobo hotdogs, veal steaks, stir fry and corn dogs. One night we ignited a tiny bit of bootleg, Greek Raki to prove that it was well over 50% alcohol. I concocted this recipe for one of those nights. It was a hit. I made it for Bethann and Hilary later. They loved it, too. This is especially amazing, because Hilary says she doesn’t like avocados or feta and it contains both. I told her they cancel each other out. She said they must, because she claimed the leftovers for her lunch.
Ingredients:
about 1-1/4 pound 80% lean ground beef
a small onion, chopped
a handful of chopped green & red peppers
a handful of baby bella mushrooms
a large handful of frozen corn
2 avocados peeled and cubed
salt
granulated garlic
mixed peppercorn grind
Greek oregano
cilantro
a generous handful of feta cheese
In a large skillet, fry up the hamburger and the chopped onion. If there is a lot of fat; drain some of it. Add the peppers, mushrooms and corn. Add the spices. Be liberal with the cilantro. It’s good for you. Stir and cook them until the peppers start to get a bit juicy, but not mushy. Add the avocados. Cover and let them get warm. Top with the feta and serve.
Tonight, just about every ingredient for tonight’s meal was found on sale. The main course, fresh leg of lamb, was on drastic markdown, 55% off, or $2.60/pound. I put the lamb in the agate roaster, uncovered, into the oven at about 3pm at 325 degrees. Then I peeled and cubed two medium sized eggplants and two avocados. I cut up one large, green pepper and about two handfuls of white mushrooms. I tossed these with olive oil on a large, sided, cookie sheet. Then I took a head of garlic; peeled the cloves, cut them in half or thirds and distributed them on the sheet. I scattered cilantro and salt over the mixture. Then I twisted the mixed peppercorn grinder over it. At 4pm, I put it into the oven on a shelf over the leg of lamb.
Hilary had made salads for us earlier and put them in the fridge. Bethann got home a little after 5pm. We had a sumptuous, low carb feast!
If you have never used avocados in cooking, you have been missing out. They do not bring a very strong flavor of their own, but they multiply and spread the flavors that they come in contact with and add a rich creamy texture. The pleasure factor of this dish was that it was like eating hot, vegetable ice cream.
I read an article in the Reader’s Digest about a better approach to nutrition and weight management about a new book by Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat – And What to Do About It. He advocates a modified Atkins style diet which limits carbohydrates, but does not limit fiber, protein and fat. It is an especially good approach to managing diabetes and, as it turns out, reduces blood pressure and improves cardiovascular health. In one of the sidebars, was an example of a day’s possible food intake. One of the items on his dinner menu was “faux mashed potatoes” made from cauliflower, sour cream and bacon. Well I have been looking for more recipes that are diabetic friendly, so I bought two heads of cauliflower at Produce Junction. Then I Googled “faux mashed potatoes.” Several recipes came up. I chose one, then looked at the ingredients that we had and used it as a very loose guide. I think I am discovering how my mom, B.J., really cooked. She would always deflect when she got raves on her cooking, with “If you can read, you can cook.” But anyone who followed the same recipe she said she had used would not come up with anything quite like she had made. She collected cookbooks like crazy. I think she would mine them for ideas, then get creative with the ingredients she had available. I’m discovering that good cooking is less like science and more like jazz.
The advantages of substituting cauliflower for potatoes are that you end up with a much lower carb intake and you raise your intake of dietary fiber and cruciferous vegetables. Of course, it’s hard to eat healthy if it isn’t tasty. All of us loved this. Hilary even told me that I could make that again! So here is my recipe for mashed cauliflower. You can follow it or read it, then improvise.
Ingredients:
2 small heads of cauliflower (~6-1/2″ across)
~ 1/2 cup celery root diced to 1/4″ cubes
4 Tablespoon butter
~ 1/2 cup sour cream
~ 1/2 cup milk (more or less depending on how wet you like your mashies)
1/4 teaspoon Vegesal (or your preferred seasoning)
Directions:
Cut up the cauliflower into ~ 1″ pieces including the stems, but not any green leaves. Dice the celery root. Boil the cauliflower and celery root for about 20 minutes (until fork tender). Drain them in a colander, pressing down with a small plate or bowl to extract more of the water. Throw it all into a food processor along with the butter, sour cream and Vegesal. Process it until it is fairly smooth. Leaving the processor on, add some of the milk. Test it for consistency and flavor. Add more milk and/or seasoning and chop it in until it meets your desired consistency and flavor. Serve.
Enjoy! It will serve six to eight. The leftovers microwave nicely.
Since the Produce Junction opened up near us, I have become a produce addict. Maybe that would be better said: a “Junction junky”? Two weeks ago, I discovered okra. I had heard of okra, especially in a Bill Smithers song: “I’ve got okra, enough to choke ya, but I’ve got no love today!” But had never experienced it up close and personal before. I purchased some and included it in the soup for the homeless men on the street. The next week, I got more and used a bunch in the turkey vegetable gumbo for the street and used some in a hamburger, noodle, veggie soup for us. They were both terrific! Don’t ask for the recipe. I didn’t follow one and I can’t recall what all I put into them.
I got to thinking, with Great Lent coming, about how to make lenten food with fewer carbohydrates for diabetics. I really like falafels, but they are pure carbs. Check out the nutritional benefits of okra. They are a great source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as antioxidants and fiber. Okra is sticky and very nutritious, so I thought I would experiment. What resulted was not exactly falafel-like, but edible and tasty nonetheless. Here’s the recipe (as near as I can remember it from last night):
Ingredients:
about 1 pound of 3 to 4 inch okra
1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained
about 3 inches of celery root at about 1-1/4″ diameter
about 1/2 cup flour
one head of garlic, cloves peeled
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
5 twists of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of parsley flakes
olive oil
Wash the okra. Throw all of the ingredients except the oil into a food processor and run it until they are thoroughly chopped and mixed and you have sticky greenish glop. Heat up 1/4″ to 1/2″ of olive oil in a large skillet. Use a tablespoon or two to scoop and plop the mixture into the hot oil. Fry one side, then turn and flatten them to fry the other. Fry them until you see more brown than green.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
8 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped to 1/4″ pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup quinoa
1-1/2 cups hot water
2 cups boiling water
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
Directions:
Put quinoa in a small pan or a two cup measuring cup. Add the hot water. Let it soak for at least five minutes. While that’s soaking, pit & dice the dates, fill the teapot and start it heating, get your skillet out and start it heating. Pour off the water from the quinoa using a fine screen strainer to catch any that pour out.
Put the olive oil and the slivered almonds in the hot skillet and lightly toast them. Don’t walk away. They turn black and stinky very quickly; and you’ll have to start over. (voice of experience)
Remove the almonds from the skillet, trying to leave as much of the oil in the skillet as you can.
Pour the quinoa into the skillet. Toast it in the oil just long enough for it to turn slightly golden. This brings out a nutty flavor. Add two cups of boiling water, the diced dates, the cinnamon stick, the bay leaf and the toasted almonds to the skillet. Simmer uncovered, stirring often, until most of the water has been absorbed by the quinoa.
Then cover and remove from the heat. Let it stand for about another five minutes until all the remaining liquid has been absorbed by the quinoa.
Makes four generous servings.
Delicious! Bethann told me it was internet ready, so that’s why I published it.
Last Saturday I went to a rain barrel workshop at Edge of the Woods Nursery put on by the Saucon Creek Watershed Committee. For $35, they provided the tools, the materials and help to build a 55 gallon rain barrel. Rain barrels help slow down the flow of water off of roofs. Suburban sprawl with its McMansions, additional roads, big box stores, big parking lots and lawns have caused many areas to become flood prone that never had this problem before. Rain showers now cause flooding, erosion and water pollution. 70% of water pollution in our lakes and streams comes from rainwater run-off. 80% of water falling on grass lawns runs off. Anything we can do to slow the flow and allow more of this water to filter through plants and soil will help to prevent flooding and pollution.
The simplest step that we can take to slow down the flow of water is to place rain barrels on our downspouts. This reduces the amount of rain flowing across the ground by catching the first 55 gallons in a rain event, saving it to be used on dry days. This reduces the amount of nonpoint source pollution. Rain barrels provide some additional benefits as well. 30% of our water is used for lawns and gardens, on average. If you use captured rainwater to water your garden and lawn you reduce your water and sewer bills and save drinking water resources. Rainwater is better for your plants than city water that has been chlorinated.
Mosquito screen attached to bottom of PVC toilet flange with duct ring
Now you can buy fancy, good-looking rain barrels from various gardening catalogs and some big box stores; or you can make them fairly inexpensively from a salvaged, food additive barrel and a few parts from the hardware store. The thread taps are pretty expensive, so try to borrow these from a plumber or join a gardening club or watershed association that can buy them corporately to sponsor events like the one I attended on Saturday.
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 food grade plastic 55 gallon drum. (SCWC gets theirs from a local recycling center.)
1 PVC toilet drain flange
2 self-tapping 3/4″ hex-top, slot screws
1 dryer vent duct ring
about a square foot of nylon window screen
1 brass 1/2″ hose spigot
1 nylon 3/4″ thread, garden hose coupler
epoxy putty
Tools:
Electric drill
handheld jigsaw
Adjustable wrench
4-5/8″ hole saw
3/4″ garden hose thread tap
13/16″ hole saw
7/16″ drill bit
thread tap for 1/2″ hose spigot
scissors
screwdriver or hex driver bit
Directions:
Top of Rain Barrel Complete
Use 4-5/8″ hole saw to cut a hole in the top of the barrel, leaving enough flat surface around it to place the toilet flange. Attach screen to bottom of flange using the dryer duct ring. (See photo above.) Trace and cut space on the side of the hole for the tightening screw to fit, so the flange lies flat, screen side down in the barrel.
Drill hole for spigot near the bottom of the side of the barrel using the drill bit. Consider carefully how you want to place this according to how the downspout will enter it, so you will have convenient access to use the water. Tap the threads and screw in spigot. Near the top of the barrel but still on the flat part of the side of the drum, cut the hole with the smaller hole saw for the overflow fitting. Use the larger tap to thread the opening, then screw in the hose coupler. Work the two parts of the epoxy putty together until it is a uniform color. Partially unscrew the spigot and the hose coupler. Work the putty into the threads and retighten, packing it all around to prevent leaks.
Your rain barrel is complete!
Threading the the hole for the spigot
Don’t drink the water from your barrel. If you have asbestos shingles (very old roof) or treated wood roof or a copper roof with a zinc anti-moss strip, do not use the water on edible plants. It is fine for flowers and lawns, though. Clean the bug screen periodically. In the winter, either take it in or leave the spigot open with no hose attached to avoid freezing and thawing from splitting your barrel.
Attach a hose to the overflow with the outlet somewhere like a soaker in a flower bed.Spigot sealed with epoxy putty
Today, I made a split pea and ham soup to serve 80 men on the street. One of the guys told me that it is so good that the recipe is “internet ready.” That’s the first time I have heard that expression. They used to just tell me that the soup was “bumpin” when it was especially good; a much more graphic descriptor to be sure. In twenty years, even homeless people have become more technologically savvy. So here goes. I will attempt to publish the recipe as well as I can reconstruct it.
Equipment:
1 – 22 quart stainless steel stock pot with a glass lid
1 – much larger aluminum stockpot with no lid
1 – food processor with chopping blade
1 – long handled, heavy duty, industrial kitchen, stainless steel spoon
1 – expendable dish rag
Ingredients:
1/2 pound dried navy beans
1/2 pound dried pinto beans
1 pound pearled barley
1/2 pound dried kidney beans
3-1/2 pounds green split peas
1 pound yellow split peas
3 ham bones with a fair amount of meat on them
2 yellow onions
raw broccoli, cauliflower and carrots from 1-1/2 party trays
5 cloves garlic
4 Tablespoons salt
10 shakes of black pepper
3 Tablespoons Greek oregano
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons ground sage
3 Tablespoons finely chopped dried basil
water
Cut as much meat as possible off of ham bones and set aside. Put ham bones and dried beans, barley and peas in the 22 quart stock pot with the pot about half full with water. Place directly on stove on high heat. While that is heating up, puree the raw vegetables and onions in the food processor and add to the pot. This will take at least three processor batches. Press the garlic cloves into the pot; that is with a garlic press. Add enough water so that the pot is almost full; still allowing room to stir vigorously. Cover and bring it to a boil. Keep it boiling until all the beans, barley and peas are soft; stirring often with your industrial spoon that is long enough to reach the bottom without burning your fingers. Remove the bones and any strips of fat that are floating. Use a plate to scrape the peas, etc., and any remaining meat off the bones to return to the soup. Discard the bones. Cut up the meat that was set aside and add it to the soup. If there is still room, add water to restore it to the level before you removed the bones.
Put the dish rag in the middle of the bottom of the larger stock pot and add hot tap water. Place stainless stock pot into larger stock pot. The water should come about halfway up the sides of the outer pot; any more and it will bubble and perk out of the pot; any less and it will not transfer enough heat to the soup. This forms a giant double boiler, so you can leave the heat on half and simmer for hours, without worrying about scorching the soup (as long as you don’t let it boil dry and burn your rag – Believe me; it’s not a pleasant smell.).
Add the rest of the spices and stir them in. Leave it on the stove to heat for a few hours; stirring occasionally and making sure that the outer pot has enough water.
When you are ready to go to the street or whatever event you are going to; dump the soup (O, I meant to say pour) into a blue Igloo brand cube style cooler. Igloo is the only brand that doesn’t melt. (Melting cooler is not a flavor you want in your soup!) It will keep your soup piping hot for hours.
