Shauna's Braised Lamb

My opinions on lamb: it's very important to make sure it's good meat! You really want 100% grass-fed: pastured raised and pasture finished. Lamb tastes like what it eats, so factory animals fed a slurry of grains, corn, and antibiotics can get pretty greasy and bland. Grass-fed lamb, on the other hand, is lean and herby. So, grass is key. Rah, rah, grass! 

• Lamb shank with bone, or similar-sized lamb roast 
• Half of a medium yellow onion 
• All of a small garlic bulb (peeled and diced) 
• Celery, chopped (or celery root or celery seed) 
• Carrots, chopped 
• Rosemary 
• Thyme 
• Bay leaves 
• 1 diced tomato 
• Dry red wine 

Saute onions, garlic, celery, carrots, rosemary, thyme. Remove veggies and brown meat in the same pan. Add all back into the pan. Add tomato, couple bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste 

Add lots of red wine, and enough water to cover the meat about halfway. Bring to a boil. Reduce immediately to low, cover, and simmer 45mins (or until meat is tender). 

Remove meat and cover it with foil to keep warm (or place into warm oven). Reduce the sauce: boil the remaining broth vigorously until it's very reduced, and thick. This can take up to 20mins. 

Serve with sauce spooned over the meat! Variations: this might be really good with port instead of dry red...

Mom's Lasagna

• 10 lasagna noodles 
• 2 lbs ground turkey or beef 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 16-oz can Italian Style diced tomatoes 
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce 
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste 
• 1 tsp each basil & oregano 
• 2 ½ cups small curd cottage cheese 
• 1 lb grated mozzarella cheese 
• ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 clove of garlic, minced 
• ½ cup chopped onion 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 tbsp dried parley flakes 
• 1 tsp sea salt 

Cook meat, onion and garlic till browned, then drain. Stir in un-drained tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt. It doesn't hurt to toss in a bit of Italian Seasoning, too. Simmer for 20 min (or more!). It can be thinned by adding more tomato sauce OR thickened by adding more tomato paste. 

Cook noodles till tender in salted water with cooking oil. Drain and rinse noodles. 

Beat eggs, then add cottage cheese, ½ cup of the Parmesan, parsley and salt (reserving the other 1/4 c of the Parmesan). 

Layer 1/3 of the noodles in a 13x9x2 baking pan. Spread with 1/3 of the filling. Add ¼ of the mozzarella and 1/3 of the meat sauce. Repeat layers. Finally, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 c Parmesan on top of the final layer of meat sauce. Add the remaining mozzarella. 

Bake in the oven at 375 F degrees for 45 min. Let stand for 10 minutes. 

• If the sauce is too thick, add more tomato sauce. 

• When laying noodles, lay three lengthwise, then 3 crosswise. Cut off excess and use the three pieces to make a fourth crosswise. The third layer is again three lengthwise (9 noodles total).

Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup (170g) butter, softened
1/2 cup (100g) white sugar*
1 large egg (seriously -- a large one)
1/4 cup (85g) robust molasses
2 cups (250g) flour
2 tsp baking soda
just under 1/2 tsp salt (don't underestimate the importance of salt in a spicy recipe like this!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
another 1/2 cup white sugar

*Use the given amount for sugar for a plush, cakey cookie; use 50% more sugar for a crispy, rich cookie.

In a medium bowl, mix softened butter, 1 cup sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in molasses.

In another bowl, combine flour with baking soda, salt, & spices. Add this to molasses mixture and stir until smooth.

Cover & chill dough for at least 1 hour. (A tip: When you do this, be sure to keep the dough in some sort of sealed container to avoid absorbing other odors from the fridge.)

Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit (190 Celsius). Shake remaining sugar onto a plate. Scoop out bits of dough and form into walnut-sized balls, rolling these in sugar before placing 2" apart on an ungreased, or baking-paper-lined, cookie sheet. I know it seems like a lot of sugar, but it gives them the most wonderful sparkle and a little caramelized crunch before you bite into the softness!

Bake 8-10 minutes until you think they're just about, but not quite, done -- they'll brown just a tiny bit more while cooling, and you want them soft.

Serve with Glühwein! Nyam nyam nyam!

Nik's Pumpkin Stew

• Some olive oil for sauteeing 
• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 zucchini, peeled & cubed 
• 1 carrot, grated 
• shakes of chili powder, if you'd like (and I like) 
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth 
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (or 3 if they're small) 
• bunch of frozen spinach (use the finely chopped kind, or you'll get long wisps of green hanging from your spoon!) 
• 2 cups pumpkin puree (I use a Hokkaido, but if you're lucky enough to live in the Land of Canned Pumpkin, then by all means!) 
• 1 cup milk 
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg 
• 1 tsp curry powder 
• shake of ginger 
• salt to taste 
• pepper to taste 
• sour cream 

In a large saucepan, saute onion & garlic in olive oil until just starting to turn transparent (not yet browned). Add zucchini, carrot, & chili powder, saute for a couple minutes more. 

Add broth and potatoes; bring to boil; simmer 20 minutes or so until taters are tender. 

Stir in pureed pumpkin and spinach until smooth; add milk & spices. Careful that it's no longer bubbling too vigorously, or the milk will flake up! Simmer for a few minutes to let things blend together. 

Serve with a dollop of sour cream in each bowl. Have seconds. And thirds. Lick the pot. (After it's cooled a bit, please!)

Gramma Ruth's Pumpkin Bread

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
2/3 cup water
3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tbs soy flour
1 tbs baking powder (of course, she does live in the Rockies -- if it doesn't rise enough in the first go, use a bit more baking powder)
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter & sugar. Add eggs. Beat until light. Stir in pumpkin and water. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients & spices. Add to pumpkin mixture. Fold in raisins and nuts. Pour into 3 well-greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. Gramma's tip: make bread a day in advance, since it tastes even better the next day.

Mom's Savory Sausage Stew

1 tbs olive oil
1.5 lbs Italian-style turkey sausage (or equivalent -- as long as it's spicy), skins removed
2 bunches green onions (remove root portion and top 1" of green stem; cut into 1/2" pieces)
1-2 turnips, peeled and cubed
1 medium-sized carrot, sliced
1 tsp celery seed
about 4 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1-2 cups chicken broth (adjust to total serving size)
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4-1/2 tsp. dried sage
some fresh-ground pepper
1 head green cabbage, cut into wedges
flour dissolved in cold water (for thickening)
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tsp red wine vinegar

In a large pot, sauté sausage, onions, turnips, carrots, and celery seed in olive oil until the sausage is lightly browned.

Stir in potatoes, broth, bay leaves, thyme, sage, and pepper. Bring to a boil; place cabbage on top; reduce heat; cover and simmer until potatoes and cabbage are tender (20-25 min).

With a slotted spoon, transfer cabbage to a large bowl.

Stir in dissolved flour (a little at a time) until desired consistency. Stir in vinegar and parsley; allow to simmer 2-3 minutes.

Ladle into deep bowls and spread cabbage on top.

Serve with crusty bread.

Or in a pumpkin!

Glühwein

- A bottle (75 ml) of deep, fruity red wine 

- half-moon slices from one half an orange 

- 1 tsp. cinnamon or three cinnamon sticks

- 1/4 tsp. cloves or about 8 whole pieces

- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 

- some shakes of vanilla sugar 

- 2-3 cracked cardamom pods 

- at least two pieces of star anise 

- 2 rounded tbs brown sugar 

- splash of Kirschwasser or Amaretto 

- a couple of thin slices of orange for decoration 

Combine everything in a saucepan on the stove. On a medium-low setting, stirring frequently, bring it slowly to a nice, hot drinking temperature and let the flavors blend for a minute or two before serving. Be patient -- it should be steaming hot, but hardly simmer. You don't want to cook out all the alcohol! 

 If you have any rock sugar (Kandiszucker), drop a couple on the bottom of each mug before adding the Glühwein. As for the wine, Dornfelder is ideal, but an especially cherry-noted Pinot Noir works great, too. (I bet Dad's Pinot Evil would be awesome here!) Or a Merlot -- whatever, as long as it's fruity! 

 A nonalcoholic version (Kinderpunsch) is easy: just replace the wine with apple juice, grape juice, well-steeped fruit tea, or a mixture of all of them. 

Enjoy with spicy cookies!

Shared recipes!

I made a couple kitchen creations today and was about to email them out. Then thought, wait a minute... this is just the sort of thing that should be in blog form! So, here it is.

I copy-pasted a bunch of recipes that were already floating around in my email. If you see something you'd like to modify or delete, please feel free to. And especially, feel free to add stuff! Happy cooking :)

Shauna

Crepes

1 cup all-purpose flour -> For wheatless: 2/3 c barley or rice flour plus 1/3 c almond flour 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter, melted Whisk milk, water, butter, salt. Whisk in eggs. Gradually whisk in flour until smooth. Lightly oil frying pan, heat to medium high. Pour approx 1/4 c batter into pan, tilting pan in circular motion to get even coating of batter (you know, the "crepe tilt"). Cook for approx 2 minutes. Loosen with spatula and flip. Cook for 1 or 2 mins more. Fill with something like: Banana, cinnamon, and nutella Cream cheese and jam Smoked salmon and goat cheese Chicken and avocado Etc!

Banana-Cocoa Snack

1 ripe banana
Raw cocoa
Cinnamon

Walnuts

Mash banana with a generous helping of raw cocoa and a dash of cinnamon. Stir in walnuts to taste. Eat with spoon. Yum!

Variants:

* With cloves and nutmeg.

* Almond butter instead of cocoa.

* Almond butter in addition to cocoa!

Nik's Salsa (and Guac)

• 1 small-ish onion to every 5 tomatoes 
• 1 fat (or two small) cloves of garlic 
• A chili pepper 
• Juice from 1 lime 
• Fresh cilantro 
• Salt & pepper to taste -- don't oversalt of course, but you might need more than you think! 

Cube up the onions & maters. Tinily chop the garlic & chili pepper. Loosely hack at the cilantro (it looks pretty when some of the leaves are still fanning out in there). Mix it all in a bowl and add lime juice, salt, & little bit o' pepper. A little liquid floating around is okay, because you want to let it sit a few hours -- or overnight in the fridge -- so that the acid from the tomatoes and lime juice can sort of soften the onions and melt the flavors together (otherwise you just get tomato-onion salad). 

For the guac: scoop out and mash up at least 3 avos (otherwise you WILL run out, because we always do!) and mix in some salt. Add a heaping spoonful of pico and mix a bit more. Taste; add more pico if needed. 

If served with fajitas: don't forget to dribble some leftover lime juice in the sour cream.

Steve's Scramble

• Onion, garlic, jalapeno 
• Spinach, frozen 
• Tomato, diced 
• Eggs 
• Avocado 

Saute onion, garlic, jalapeno. Add spinach and saute until warmed and soft. Add tomatoes and saute 1 or 2 mins longer, until tomatoes start to soften. Crack eggs over the top. Scramble and cook! Serve scramble atop a mashed, ripe avocado. Toast optional.

Butternut Bean Stew

• Large onion 
• Garlic cloves 
• 1 large jalapeno, or equivalent in other fresh chilis 
• Mushrooms 
• 2 lbs kabocha or butternut 
• Green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces 
• Can diced tomatoes in juice 
• Can black beans 
• Cilantro 
• Cumin, salt, pepper 
• Chili powder to taste 

 Steam squash until soft, then peel, scoop out seeds, and mash. Saute onion, garlic, jalapeno. Add mushrooms and continue to saute until soft. Add tomatoes with juices; bring to a boil. Stir in squash, green beans, spices (salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder). Simmer until veggies are tender, about 15 mins. Stir in drained beans and cilantro; simmer another 5 mins. Serve topped with avocado slices.

Michael's Spaghetti Sauce

The Spices: 

1 tbsp Mediterranean Basil, dried 

1 tbsp Sweet Basil, dried 

1 tbsp Oregano, dried 

1/2 tbsp Onion Powder 

1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder 

1/2 tbsp Parsley, dried 

1/4 tbsp Chives, dried 

1/8 tbsp Sage Leaves, dried (very potent, use a single fluffy pinch.) 

The Chicken: 

Fry 2 chicken breasts and two tenders (you can start frozen) in a frying pan in 1/3 cup of olive oil until completely cooked. Dice into bite sized cubes while still in the pan. Turn the heat to "Low" or "Simmer" as to keep them warm, but not overcook em. 

The Sauce: 

Mix 1 can of tomato paste, 1 can of tomato soup (preferably organic), and 1 tomato soup can of water in a saucepan and add my Italian seasoning. Mix well, cover, and bring to a boil. Seconds after it starts popping like lava (lid still closed, lest you splatter yourself!), lower the temperature to "Low" or "Simmer". When it stops popping, add the chicken cubes, mix well, then let it simmer for 15 minutes. 

The Noods: 

You know what to do! Be sure to mix a with a little olive oil after draining to keep from sticking. 

Buon Appetito!

Ron's Carne Asada

Pour in half a Pacifico Beer
Rough Chop cilantro
O.J.
Santa Maria (Garlic salt, salt and pepper)
Bunch of rough chop green onions
1/2 rough chop red onion
1 minced jalapeno
1.5 beef skirt steak

put all ingredients to marinate meat

grill meat and while grilling pour on marinade.
Done and done!!!

Nettle Soup

A traditional, spring-timey dish... for crazy mountain people who see stingy weed things and decide to eat them! Surprisingly delicious and nutritious. You can usually get nettles at farmer's markets in spring, or... maybe wander out into the woods and forage them yourself (bring gloves!) 

Big bunch of nettles 

Shallots (or red onion) 

Chicken stock (or bullion) 

Nutmeg 

Sour cream (or yogurt) 

Boil water; dump the nettle in, without touching them (they bite!). Push them down with a wooden spoon to make sure they're completely submerged. Boil on high for 2 mins. After 2 mins, the venom is broken down, rendering the plants helpless. I did 5 mins, to be extra-super-sure. 

Drain and rinse. Puree with a handmixer (I had to add back a little bit of water). Set back on medium heat to keep warm. Saute a generous portion of shallots in butter until soft, but not carmelized. Add with chicken stock (or bullion + water) back into the nettles. Finish heating, add nutmeg to taste. 

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Sarah's Pie Crust

Trans-fat free! 

2 1/4 cups flour 

1 tsp salt 

2/3 cup vegetable oil 

1/3 cold milk 

Mix flour and salt.  

Measure oil and milk together -- do not stir (I don't know why, but it seems to matter). 

Add to flour. 

Use exact measurements and do not add flour to roll out dough. Roll out crust between sheets of wax paper. 

Shauna edit: For oil, I used coconut oil (solid at room temperature) for pumpkin pie. OMG so tasty.

Shauna's Jägerschnitzel

• Pork fillets Mushrooms (chanterelles are awesome for this) 
• Shallots - sliced 
• Dried tomatoes - a small handful, chopped into itty bitty cubes 
• Rosemary - to taste 1/2 c heavy cream 
• 2 Tbs goat cheese 
• 1/2 c broth, enough to make sauce but not soup (or just 1/2 a bullion cube and some water) 

Salt 'n' pepper fillets, pan fry. Set aside. Saute shallots, tomatoes, rosemary (don't caramelize the shallots, just soften). Add mushrooms and continue to saute until soft. Stir in broth and simmer for a minute or two. Stir in heavy cream and goat cheese. Add meat back in and simmer flavors together for 5 - 10mins Eeeeat!

Butternut Spinach Bake

• 1 small butternut, or other orange winter squash 
• Heaps and heaps of frozen spinach 
• Onions 
• 1/2 c heavy cream (or ricotta, for less fat) 
• 4 eggs cinnamon + nutmeg + black pepper + dash salt 

Cut squash into halves or quarters, and steam until soft enough to scoop out seeds and peel. 

Saute spinach with onions until onions transparent and spinach thawed. 

Scramble eggs and mix with heavy cream. 

Mash up squash in a bowl with spices. 

Then stir in cream, eggs, and spinach. 

Butter a baking dish. Pour in the mixture and top with cheese! Bake at 350F (uh, something celcius?) for 20 mins or until firm and edges are browning (and cheese is crisping).