Best Apple Fritters

Perfect for a cold or snowy day as a treat.  For Carol... or Eiley... or whoever :)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp of white sugar
• 1 Tbsp of cinnamon
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups of grated Granny Smith apples
• 2 cups of confectionary sugar
• 1/4 cup of cream/milk
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1 Tbsp of butter

Steps:

1. Mix together well flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder in a large bowl.
2. Add milk and beaten eggs and mix slightly.  Add apples and mix well, let stand 5 minutes.
3. Drop large spoonfuls into 350 F oil and fry 3 minutes for 1st side, 2 minutes for second side.
4. Place on paper towels for 5 minutes to dry.
5. In a pot on the stove, add sugar, cream, vanilla and butter.  Warm on medium low and stir often until it forms a thin glaze.
6. When fritters are cool, dip each in glaze.

Perfect Prompt Pizza Dough

We found this one in "Food and Wine", of all places.  If we have time, we prefer to make this over-night dough from 101 Cookbooks. But when we are pressed for time, this dough works out great in just 2 hrs, start to finish at the table.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water (110°)
• 2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Steps

1. In a bowl, combine the yeast, 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1/4 cup flour in a small bowl. Let it stand for 30 minutes.
2. Add the remaining 1-3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons luke warm water, olive oil and salt. 
3. Mix the dough thoroughly.  I use the dough hook and the Kitchen-Aid on low speed for 1 minute, scraping the sides if I need to. 
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, elastic and a bit tacky to the touch, 7 to 8 minutes. For this, I keep going on medium speed with Kitchen-Aid and the dough hook for 5-6 minutes.
5. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to cover with spray oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (75°) until double in volume, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
6. 30 minutes before you are ready, pre-heat the oven and pizza stone to 500 F.  Typical baking time is 12 minutes, more for heavier toppings.

Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup

We both have a strong memory of comfort food built around cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. And after cold, windy days like today (our annual Farm Open House, 45 F in a gusty 20 mph wind), we need a bit of super-warm comfort.

The trick with this recipe is not to fall back on making Campbell's instead. It does take about 30 minutes of simmering, but it is worth it. We use our own quarts of tomato puree from the year before. The tomatoes are all gone by then, but I have 14 oz cans of Muir Glen diced tomatoes handy to give it some texture.

The 30 minute simmering time is to allow the basil time to get well-mixed.

And finally, we don't buy cream this way (unless it is going into whipped cream). So I used 1/2 cup of whole milk - not from the store which may have some cream removed, but absolutely fresh off the udder, whole goat milk. The cream there is part of the allure of the texture and gives a nice floor to the sweet tomato flavor.

"Tastes like summer."

Ingredients

• 1 quart of tomato puree, hopefully your own
• 4 medium sized tomatoes, diced OR 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp of dried basil OR 10-15 fresh basil leaves (best)
• 1 broth cube (I used Herb-Ox vegetable bouillon cubes)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream OR 1/2 cup whole milk w/ cream

Steps

1. Add the quart of puree, the diced tomatoes, broth cube and the basil to a medium sized pot. Bring to a fast simmer then down to a low simmer. Hold there for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Once the 30 minutes are up, turn off the heat and stir in the cream/whole milk and serve immediately hot.
3. While the soup is simmering, you might as well start making grilled cheese sandwiches!

Serves 4.

Treasure in a Squash

Jen made this for a brunch - she used a turk's hat squash, hollowed out and then packed with the apple-cranberry casserole. Fabulous as a side or dessert, especially when you can dig the spoon deep and remove some squash and apple at the same time.

Ingredients

• 1 (5 lb.) squash
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 large tart apples, peeled, cored & diced
• 1/2 c. cranberries
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 c. walnuts, crumbled

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Lay squash on its side and cut off 1/4 of it to make a lid. Remove seed and strings.
3. Melt butter in skillet, add onion and saute until soft about 5 minutes.
4. Add apples, cinnamon, raisins and sunflower kernels. Stir and toss until well mixed. Cook about 5 minutes.
5. Scoop apple mixture into squash and replace "lid".
6. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Serves 8.

Cuban Black Beans and Rice (plus Mojo Criollo)

I have to admit a guilty pleasure - we love to watch the breezy spy-do'gooder series "Burn Notice" on the Interweb. I have learned that there is a remarkable:

1. number of exploding things you can make with the help of a hardware store or cell phone (not your mother's MacGyver)
2. amount of yogurt being eaten by spies on surveillance duty (perhaps all that Fiona does eat)
3. love affair with Miami out there, especially to Cuban cuisine (though the main characters never are seeing actually eating those Cuban sandwiches).

So today, a 20 F cold day with a west wind that just wouldn't quit, we hung a 10 ft gate and latch. We were shivering on the way in. I suggested we use up the rice by making bean burritoes - Carol countered with enchiladas (no cheese!) - I volleyed with Cuban Black Beans - and Carol said "Mojo sauce!"

Mojo (according to WikiP) "In Cuban cooking mojo applies to any sauce that is made with garlic, olive oil and a citrus juice, traditionally sour orange juice." Sadly, we don't have any sour orange available, so we mod below according to the "3 Guys from Miami" website, to whom we defer on all questions about Cuban cooking.

Mojo goes great here, but use it as a marinade too, if you dare. Garlic is the point, not an addition, keep that in mind. The oil is left out here, but if you were using it for a marinade of meat, then follow the version here (3 Guys) with oil.

This is related to our own "Vampire Marinade" (which if you follow the WikiP link on Mojo above lists the cilantro-heavy variant of Mojo as a typical Puerto Rican choice).

Ingredients

Black Beans and Rice

• 1 onion, chopped (not too finely, it is fun as texture)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 14 oz cans of black beans (Goya makes a nice organic)
• 1/2 cup of mojo criollo
• 1 tbsp of cumin

Mojo Criollo

• 1.5 cups of orange juice (use a good one, no green orange flavor Need Apply)
• 1/2 cup of lime juice
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 2 tsp of oregano
• 1 head of garlic, minced (we use a strong garlic we grow called "Music")

Steps

1. Start with the mojo - add the juices, salt, oregano and garlic to a jar. Shake the bejeesus out of it and then let it sit at least 1 hour. Refrigerate any extra up to 7 days (time to plan more cuban dishes this week).
2. Saute the onion and green pepper in olive oil until they are nearly clear.
3. Add the beans, cumin, and mojo criollo. Heat it up and let some of the juices boil off.
4. Serve hot with rice.

Makes about 6 servings (4 if you love mojo).

Potato Corn Chowder

This is one of our oldest recipes - we only have it written down in one place on a notecard. I don't even know where we got it from, but it has been a stand-by for as long as I can remember us being together.

It is a straight ovo-lacto vegetarian recipe, but you could add some sausage to it (I know Bri would like that) or some chicken. I even saw a variant of this with lobster. Lobster! Riiiight.

Or version is big on the potatoes and corn, fresh is best, but where do you get fresh corn when it is cool enough to eat soup? Not around me, at least not with local.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 red (or Yukon Gold) potatoes, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• broth to cover (about 1 quart)
• 3 cups of corn
• 2 cups of crushed tomatoes (14 oz can)
• 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 tsp of marjoram or oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup of milk, soy-milk or yogurt

Steps

1. Saute the onion for 5 minutes under medium-high heat.
2. Add the carrots and celery and saute 2 minutes more.
3. Add the potatoes and bay leaves, then cover with broth. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
4. Add the corn kernels (still frozen is fine) and the tomatoes. Bring to a low boil, then add the herbs and simmer for 25 minutes.
5. Remove and mash about 1 cup of potatoes (I inevitably bring along some corn and tomatoes... mush 'em all). This will thicken the soup and make it more chowder-like.
6. Finally, add 1 cup of milk or yogurt and simmer 5 more minutes.
7. Serve immediately with a great bread.

Makes 10 servings.

Fresh Asparagus Bake

This is my favorite way to serve asparagus in an entree. So, every May this gets "front and center" treatment for lunch and sometimes dinner!

This recipe is very flexible, I added ham below (we did that today for the first time) - but it is great without it (fresh asparagus really brings enough flavor on its own). We have added feta cheese instead cheddar and that went very well with the asparagus. Doesn't need a whole lot of extras in terms of herbs either, let the fresh ingredients do all the talking.

Ingredients

• 10 awesomely farm-fresh eggs
• 1/2 cup of milk
• one bunch of asparagus, chopped
• 8 oz ham steak, cubed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-4 oz of cheddar cheese, grated

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Beat the eggs and milk together.
3. Add salt and pepper
4. Add asparagus bits and stir to mix 'em up.
5. Spray oil on a 9 x 9 pan.
6. Pour in egg/asparagus mixture.
7. Top with cubed ham and cheese.
8. Bake for 30 minutes and then let cool for 5 minutes.