Kale soup

September 29, 2010 6 Comments

mmm…. Kale…. one of my absolutely favorites. I don’t really know when this happened.. I don’t exactly remember eating kale as a child, but somewhere along the open road of life, kale & I met and  the rest is history..

So when our CSA share from Plato\’s Harvest Organic farm contained not only one, but TWO types of kale to chose from. I was a bit delirious

and leeks!!!

I could barely contain with the excitement of making kale soup!!

I’m serious.  this was possibly the highlight of my week.

my recipe..

1/4 cup olive oil

2 onions, halved & sliced thinly

6 links of Hot sausage, cut in half lengthwise & cut into half-moons

3 garlic cloves, smashed

2 quarts chicken stock ( I had one quart homemade & 1 quart reduced-sodium store bought)

large can of whole tomatoes ( or fresh prepared)

2 bay leaves

2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed clean & cut into quarters (I used baby potatoes.. if you used larger ones, cut in inch size pieces

1 large bunch of kale , rinsed & leaves torn form stems into bite size pieces

I parmesan cheese rind ( I save them when I get to to the end of the cheese & freeze them just for soups like this 😉

1 can each red kindney beans & white cannelloni beans, rinsed & drained

1 teaspoon paprika

cayenne pepper to taste ( I like mine on the HOT side )

salt & pepper

Heat oil over medium heat in large dutch oven; add onion, sausage & potatoes. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (everything will start to caramelize)

Add the garlic, stirring immediately then add the stock, tomatoes, bay leaves & cheese rind; bring to a boil.

Add the kale all at once and push down into the hot liquid. Add the remaining spices, reduce to a simmer & cover.

Cook until taters are tender.

Remove bay leaves  and enjoy!!


I served it with bread from our bread share…

and individual apple crisps for dessert

topped with whipped cream & apple butter

oh.

yeah.

Filed Under: Soup Tagged With: , , ,

*confession*

September 26, 2010 5 Comments

I cheated.

And I lied.

Well sort of.

I made apple pie. Remember how I said that I wasn’t going to bake an  apple pie ???

Well, Ryan has been begging me to bake a pie.

Begging!!!

Begging!!

BEGGING!!

So I finally gave in..homemade apple pie♥♥♥

with fresh cinnamon sugar whipped cream

and little cinnamon covered pastry hearts

My pie filling:

about 6 apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced

( I’m not exactly sure what kinds they were *they were a mix, because when they opened the ropes last weekend to that part of the orchard, I made a mad dash & just picked)

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp all-purppose flour

pinch of salt,

grating of fresh nutmeg & about 1 tsp of cinnamon.

I mixed these all together then poured into a pastry lined- pie plate & topped with a second pastry.

I poked purty little holes all around the top of the crust to let steam escape, brushed an egg wash allover the top of the crust & dusted with some cinnamon sugar. I used my pastry scraps to cup out little hearts, arranged them on top of the crust & then hit them with a little egg wash / cinnamon sugar action.

I used aluminum foil to protect the edges & baked it at 375 degrees using convection bake for about 45 minutes, ( 400 if you don’t have convection bake)

removing the foil after 1/2 an hour.

I baked off the little remaining heart toppers at the same temp, but they only took about 12 minutes.

The whipped cream was a pint of fresh heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup homemade cinnamon / sugar mixture until thick. (refrigerating both the bowls & the whack prior to whipping helps it whip up much faster 😉 )

but here lies the deception.. I had already promised to make Swedish meatballs for dinner & since time is not always on my side, I had to take shortcuts.

I bought ( hold onto your seats here…) frozen already prepared meatballs from the freezer section of the grocery store; canned gravy & half and half !!

*I’ll give you a moment to regain your composure before I go on*

It gets worse..

ALL of this while I’m on the phone with Jason in Florida giving him my secret meatball recipe.

and I had frozen balls on my stove.

I suppose I need to hand my crown over at this point?

:here is where the lying part comes in:

Ry said, ” mom, you’ve outdone yourself, I love the way that you prepared these meatballs !”

Me: “thank you”.

Now technically I did prepare the dish… and I added bay leaves to the simmering fake-out meal, but since I didn’t actually make the meatballs well, that could be misconstrued as lying.

But they were happy with their meatballs and when all was said & done..

they had pie 🙂

and everyone was happy!

Now for the winner of the super-de-duper apple corer..

Christina!!! Congraulations!!  And thank you to all who participated.  I have a few more ideas for giveaways in the near future..

Christina..email me your information & I will get this baby shipped out to you 🙂

Filed Under: dessert, giveaway Tagged With: ,

what I love about fall

September 23, 2010 10 Comments

a~ apples, acorn squash

b~ Bruce Springsteen’s birthday, BOOTS!

c~ Cecelia’s birthday , cider , candles

d~ DMB concerts

e~ early sunsets

f~ falling leaves; fireplaces, festivals, football!

g~gobbling turkeys

h~ harvest time!! hayrides

i~ ice hockey ( Go B’s!!)

j~jeans

k~ kale!!!

l~leaves changing colors

m~ mazes. corn mazes to be exact 🙂

n~ nuts

o~oatmeal!!

p~ pep rallies before games (I’m talking pre-Nauset.. going back to the Fermi days 😉 ). and pumpkin beer

q~ quilts!!!!

r~ rustling leaves crunching beneath my feet

s~ sista’s birthday, soups & stews  SOCKS!!! ( I have a thick comfy sock addiction)

t~tea

u~ Uggs ( my pink fluff mommas 😉 )

v~ vino! (anytime of year;) )

w~ walks in the woods

x~ I got nutin’

y~yams

z~ zzzzzz  naps 😉

I found my new favorite breakfast this morning.  I made overnight oats, then added some apple butter , chia seeds & topped with chopped walnuts.

and just for fun…

the tiniest drizzle of Vermont Maple syrup

what are your favorite things about fall? What did I miss??

Filed Under: random Tagged With:

wonderful winter squash!!

September 23, 2010 5 Comments

This past week at Plato\’s harvest Organic Farm our CSA share contained some winter squash.

a squash that I had never seen before.. Delicata squash..

I was intrigued.. and excited…something new to try!!

here’s what I did :

I began by washing it, cutting it in half, scooping the seeds into the compost pile & drizzling with a little olive oil salt & pepper on a cookie sheet.

lined with foil, for easy clean-up 😉

I flipped the squash cut side down & roast in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes,

(depending on the size of your squash.)

*the purple potatoes came along for the hot ride in the oven 😉 *

The Delicata squash ( isn’t it a cool name?) is ready when the  squash is soft to the touch.

And the result? A caramelized fall vegetable that will have you feeling warm & fuzzy

this particular squash has a very thin skin & is edible.

and delicious.  I’m  hooked. The first 4 squash that I made I didn’t share with Scott. I’m serious. I made him eat granola.

To serve you can:

1) open wide & inhale it, like I did the first time (hoping that no one is peeking your kitchen)

2) be a tad more civilized & serve it as a side dish using your fork & knife like a grown-up

3) be really adult & stuff it..like I did yesterday for lunch ( I didn’t give in to my constant calling of Tuesday night’s)  baked shells with parmesan cream sauce & broccoli

Yay me!!

I stuffed mine with

1/4 cup couscous

1/2 cup of oven-roasted kale

1 tomato, chopped

I drizzled on some EVOO & topped with a few chopped walnuts….

oh yeah, and a small amount of Parmesan cheese. I think that I should have cheese in every meal for the rest of my life.

I think that someday that should be on my headstone….

so hats off to me yesterday…. I chose that dish

*right* up*there*

in place of what I could’ve had

*right*down*there*

plus I walked 2 miles. ( those of you who know me know that my post -surgery has not been as easy as I had hoped)

so I had 2 awesome accomplishments on a lonely little hump-day 😉

And back to the squash…. if you have the chance, you really need to try this. Scott game one to my sister to try. She’s lucky that she is my sister; I’m not sharing my Delicata squash lightly.

If you are reading this in particularly from the Plymouth area, you can head down to the farmer’s market TODAY! at Stephen’s Field & some for yourself. If your aren’t from a round here, check your local Farmer’s market.

But if you are from around here? You should go.  And buy Delicato squash.  And bring me some cheese:)

thank you 😉

p.s… there is still time to enter  the super-cool apple corer giveaway 😉

Filed Under: side dishes Tagged With:

small friends & pasta party!!

September 22, 2010 9 Comments

Yesterday was a very busy day here at Casa Hagg.

Not only did I get to spend the day with two of my favorite kiddos in the world

~L

and

~G (peanut butter face)

but we were also having a team-building , carb-loading pasta dinner for the girls’ JV soccer team..

We spent the morning playing race-cars , coloring big empty boxes & getting the house ready for the party

and having lunch 😉

When it was time for  L to get on the school bus to kindergarten..

G & I set out on an adventure for acorns

for his favorite stuffed squirrel.. ( he now has a winter-long stash;) )

For the dinner I made a tossed garden salad ( nothing fancy, I never know who will eat what..)

garlic bread

traditional baked ziti

made with sausage, ricotta, mozzarella & tomato sauce

but I also wanted another pasta option.. so I came up with this recipe.

beware.. calorie counting is prohibited for this dish… it is comfort food at it’s best

Baked shells with a parmesan-cream  sauce & broccoli

here is what I used:

1 box of medium shells, cooked according to package, except reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.

1 stick of unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 pint half & half

2 cups chicken stock

nutmeg

1 8-ounce package of 5 cheese blend shredded cheese

2 cups frozen broccoli, defrosted & chopped.

here is what I did:

in large stockpot ( the same one that I boiled the shells in, they were chillin’ in the colander in the sink)

Melt the butter over medium heat; add the flour & whisk with a whisk to make a slurry.

Let cook for about a minute to let the raw flour taste cook off; slowly add the half & half, whisking constantly.. then do the same with the chicken stock.

Add a pinch of nutmeg, stir occasionally as the mixture thickens.. season with salt & pepper; Add shredded cheese & let cook until the cheese is all melty.

Add the pasta & stir to combine, adding some reserved pasta liquid, starting with 1/2 cup, then adding more if needed.

Stir in broccoli & pour entire mixture into a buttered baking dish.

Top with grated Parmesan cheese, cover with foil & bake in a 350 degree oven for 1/2 hour.

This. Was. Heavenly.

As I went for my second helping last night, I promised myself a day of all vegetables today as retribution..

I keep reminding myself of that as I know that there is just enough of this in my fridge for lunch should I decide to break my promise with myself & indulge.

Which I won’t.

I think.

Yeah, I won’t.

Probably.

Good luck Lady Saints in your first home game of 2010!!

Filed Under: Dinner, Main dish, make-ahead Tagged With: , , ,

apple picking part deux & giveaway!

September 20, 2010 20 Comments

My sister Jodie called me earlier in the week to see if I was interested in going apple picking.  Despite the fact that we just went last weekend I eagerly said yes!

This meant

1) some quality girl-time

2) I could use up my apples from last weekend to make more of that yummy apple butter

So I loaded my crackpot with all the fixins’ & we headed back to the orchard.

no. wait. That’s Ryan from years ago.

THIS was yesterday… My niece, Mollie was desperately looking for a green apple. She was a bit excited when she found one!

Ali & my niece, Alexis…

♥Lex♥

we went for a hayride to a pumpkin patch

Lex was very concerned with liability issues

Jodie, Lex & I found the cornfield

Jodie with her girls

Ali & I

Mollie munching on one of many apples..

I fell in love with this little apple… it’s perfect!

to give you an idea of how little it is, I placed it next to my coffee mug.

♥♥♥cuteness♥♥♥

so now.. for the giveaway…

In honor of my passion of all things APPLE   (and my pathetic attempt to see who’s reading) I’m going to give away one of those new-fancy-dancy apple corers!

All that you have to do is

a) comment on this post as to what your favorite apple dish is

OR

b) sign up to receive new post via email

OR.. if you do both, then you will be entered twice!

The winner will be announced Friday evening…

good luck!

Filed Under: family, giveaway Tagged With:

how to cook fresh PUMPKIN!!

September 19, 2010 3 Comments

WARNING! Lots of

ORANGE ahead.

look what I noticed on the Dogfishhead Punkin Ale box..

*giggle* no wonder I love it so!


Pumpkin.

Pumpkin.

Pumpkin.

I just love me some pumpkin.  Is there anything else that says FALL like pumpkin?

I was traumatized by the terrible pumpkin shortage of ’09 .

( I still have a can that I was able to get last year & hoarded in the event that pumpkin was scarce again this year.)

just.

in.

case.

But I am proud to day that I have 6  pumpkins right in my very own kitchen 🙂

I have researched the best way to cook pumpkins so that they are recipe-ready and this is what I came up with..

Start by halving your pumpkin & scooping out the seeds.

WHOA! did someone say seeds? Oh yes, that was me. How could I have forgot about the magic that is the pumpkin seed?

Place those seeds in a bowl & set them off to the side.. we’ll get to those in a minute.

Remove as much of the stringy part or the pumpkin as possible, then place your pumpkin cut side down in a baking dish & add about 1/2 cup water.

place in a preheated 450 degree oven & bake for approximately 45 minutes or until a knife inserts easily into the skin

allow to cool a bit

then you can either spoon it out of the skin

or, if it the skin has blistered a bit, peel the skin from the flesh

you could probably cook with it just like this, but I felt the need ( for no particular reason other than the spirit moved me ) to use my handy-dandy immersion blender to make it smoother

can you say ‘pumpkinny goodness’?

I cooked 2 batches yesterday. one to make Jessica\’s Double Decker Pumpkin Bread

escuse me while I wipe the drool..

and one batch for the freezer.  For Christmas. For Jason. and Amanda.

Now, onto those pumpkin seeds..

Start by separating as much flesh from thew seeds as possible. ( I put the seeds in a large bowl of col water and massaged them.. it helps free the seeds.) then rinse & drain in a colander & spread on a cookie sheet overnight.

( or, your could use a blowdryer or a very low oven if you simply can’t wait)

preheat oven to 300 degrees and melt about a tablespoon of butter; toss seeds with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt & melted butter

spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or waxed paper.

(this not only makes clean-up easy, but by lifting the foil & starting to fold in half, it makes it easier to remove the seeds from the pan to whatever you will be storing them in)

I’m speechless.

Filed Under: canning Tagged With: ,

3 Rs

September 18, 2010 6 Comments

We took a family trip recently to the zoo and I saw these signs which I thought were just downright adorable

so I turn this

into this…

Compost!! Gardener’s gold!!

I reuse all  of my glass jars.

I have a ‘thing’ for ball jars. Perhaps an addiction?

isn’t he just the cutest?

Recycle

Recycle..

repeat.

In honor of all of the early pumpkin that we have received this year, I am currently

(yes, right NOW)

cooking up some pumpkin for some other recipes.  My next post will be all about cooking fresh  pumpkin 🙂

stay tuned…..

Filed Under: random Tagged With:

grilled pork chops with mango -jalapeño sauce

September 17, 2010 2 Comments

I’ve found that some of the best recipes that I’ve made have been largely unplanned. Scott & I had bought these beautiful pork chops  but just couldn’t come up with an idea for them.

blindly heading toward my fridge without a clue as to what I was doing, I spotted the Greek yogurt.

Then I opened the freezer so see a lonely bag of Trader Joe’s frozen mango chucnks

Hmmm… I was onto something.

I grabbed my trusty blender &  added the yogurt, mango, 1/2 of a jalepeno pepper, chopped , 1/4 cup brown sugar, some salt & pepper a little bit of good ol’ H2O.. said a quick prayer to the cooking fairies & whirred my little heart out.

yumminess was happening..

I added a little bit more water to get a smoother consistency & tasted it.

perfect!

I set aside some of this yummy sauce ( and kept tasting it.. you know just to make sure that the flavors didn’t change int he 10 minutes since I had made it..)

and marinated the pork in the rest of it.

of course being VERY careful to not cross-contaminate with any of the raw pork..

I covered both of these babies & stuck them in the fridge and let the pork marinade all day long.

Dinnatime!!! I fired up my grill & grilled both chops….

OOPS.. hot spot… darn it 😦

pork chop #2…  now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ ’bout!!

dear pork police…

*no pork was wasted in this burning misadventure, the crust of that one side of burnt pork was cut off & the pork underneath was wonderful*

I grilled it to an internal temp of 145.. then pull of the grill & LET REST!!.. this is very important!

I made a salad with some Arugula from Plato\’s Harvest Organic Farm.. I added some slivered onion, goat cheese & slivered almonds. Tossed with a little bit of the marinade that I set aside..

next to the sliced pork & a bit more magic sauce on top..

I think I love mango 🙂

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , , , , ,

a is for apple

September 16, 2010 8 Comments

b is for butter.

Put them together & you have

apple butter !

Actually, apple butter does not contain any butter.  I also have never tried it.

so what would possess me to attempt to make it?

The fact that we went apple picking this past weekend.

I thought this apple was a little bit funny 🙂

there was not any cider-making going on. Somehow the soda can in front of the apple press seems so wrong…..

We have gone to the same orchard for years…  Jason, Scott & Ali..

Jason, skinny michelle & baby Ry….

this is the first time that  there wasn’t any cider.  I’m not sure if it’s a sign of the recession, or if we were just too early ..

we were sad 😦

So.. back to the apple butter


I decided to make it mostly because  everyone expected me to bake a pie.

I’m a rebel 😉

Also, I’ve been on a canning kick, ( never too soon to think about the upcoming gift-giving season) so when I found a recipe that someone had commented that the canned it.. I was all in!

All Day Apple Butter

I made a slight change to the recipe ( don’t I always?) I don’t like things overly sweet, so I cut the sugar down to 1 cup & added 1 1/2 cup brown sugar.

first  I peeled the apples

then I  inserted my super-cool new corer into the center.

why is so super-cool?

because when you pull out the core, you press the lever & the core pops right out!

cool, eh?

ya know you want one 😉

chop up dem apples

mix them all up with the spices & sugars..

and cook.

and cook.

and enjoy how wonderful your house smells

♬♬♬♬ all. day. long.♬♬♬♬♬

The apples did break down over time, but I found that I  had to use my trusty immersion blender to get the smooth texture that I was looking for.

oh.

yeah.


I canned most of the apple butter ( I had to save some for us to have on the chilly fall mornings..)

this was a great recipe !

on a funny note.. here is a shot that I took trying to feature the butter all processed

can you tell that we skipped mowing the lawn in favor of apple picking?


Filed Under: canning Tagged With: , ,
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