Monthly Archives: November 2009

Dark Days: Goat Cheese, Chive and Cranberry Scones

29 November 2009 by local kitchen

I had every intention of making a local dinner of Flying Pigs pork cutlets stuffed with CSA frozen arugula, Nettle Meadow chevre and Cranberry Hill organic cranberries. Tai was drooling at the mere thought. However, as the afternoon waned I realized that I was just not in the mood for meat, even though the pork was thawing away on the counter. So I stuck Flying Pigs back in the fridge for tomorrow and made the same basic flavors (and ingredients) into […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, breads, breakfast, cheese, chives, cranberries, Dark Days Local, fall, herbs, quick & easy, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, whole grain breads

Fiery Habanero Mustard

28 November 2009 by local kitchen

At its simplest, prepared mustard is a basic mix of mustard seed and water, ground into a paste, and as such, could hardly be easier for the home cook. Mustard lovers may tell you, however, that the devil is in the details: which mustard seeds to use? which soaking liquid to use? Which vegetables, fruits, herbs or spices will flavor the mustard? This simple mustard gets its punch from fiery habanero chile peppers: yellow mustard seeds are soaked in habanero-infused […]

Categories: canning, condiments, hot chile peppers, mustard, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, recipes

Drunken Cherry & Apple Pie

26 November 2009 by local kitchen

My contribution to the Thanksgiving table: preserved sweet cherries from the summer’s harvest, hand-picked, organically-grown Mutsu and IdaRed apples from Fishkill Farms, and flaky, tender pastry crust. Happy Thanksgiving! Adapted from The Best All-American Apple Pie in The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum ————————————————————– Drunken Cherry & Apple Pie INGREDIENTS double recipe of Rose’s Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust (see Options for the cream cheese variation) 2 and 1/2 lbs baking apples 1 and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp lemon […]

Categories: apples, baking, cherries, dessert, fall, pastry, pie, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes

Smoked Paprika & Orange Roasted Chicken

24 November 2009 by local kitchen

Smoked paprika is a rich and flavorful spice, with no real chile heat but the warmth of paprika, the smoky flavor of a wood fire and somehow, the flavor of bacon. This orange & smoked paprika paste yields a very flavorful bird; while I’ve been unable to get a crispy skin despite a few attempts, the meat is highly flavored with smoky paprika and tart-sweet orange, so it is a worthwhile recipe (and the carcass makes an amazing chicken stock). […]

Categories: chicken, citrus, fall, main course, roasting, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, dinner, food, local, main course, orange, recipes, roasting, smoked paprika

Use It or Lose It! PB&J Cookies

22 November 2009 by local kitchen

I was rotating stock in the “pantry” the other day (aka “the garage“), separating 2008 home-canned goods from 2009 (Yes, my life is a thrill a minute! Don’t you want to be me?), when I realized that I had a couple of jars of homemade preserves leftover from May and June of ’08. As I try to use these up within about a year (and we’re well past that now) I decided it was high time these came upstairs to the fridge. […]

Categories: baking, dessert, jams, non-local luxuries, nuts, Use it or Lose it!, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes, thumbprint cookies, using jam

Dark Days: Apple Cider Chicken with Sage Mashed Potatoes

21 November 2009 by local kitchen

About a week ago, I signed up for the Dark Days Challenge, hosted by food blogger (not so) Urban Hennery, in which locavores strive to keep in touch with their local foodshed throughout the long, cold, dark days of winter and to “cook one meal each week focused on SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) ingredients” and write about it on their blogs. Shouldn’t be such a challenge for a self-styled Local Kitchen blogger, no? Well, you might be surprised. Atlhough I have a chest freezer stocked full […]

Categories: 100% local, apples, chicken, Dark Days Local, fall, main course, sage, tomatoes, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Local Thanksgiving

19 November 2009 by local kitchen

What are your Thanksgiving plans? Do you host a big dinner, take charge of the turkey, and pester the neighbors for extra dining room chairs? Do you travel to an aunt’s, uncle’s or grandmother’s house? Maybe you are in college and can’t wait to get home to Mom’s cooking (and to do laundry, of course). Maybe you are a newlywed and planning your first Thanksgiving dinner at home, for just the two of you. One of the nice things about […]

Categories: 100% local, fall • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Cranberry Apple Butter

19 November 2009 by local kitchen

Really, I promise this is the last apple butter recipe. At least for this year. (It’s possible, just possible, that 110 lbs of apples was a wee bit insane ludicrous ambitious.) But this is an apple butter recipe I can get behind. It’s really a cranberry butter recipe; very tangy cranberry flavor with the apples lending their pectin and texture and a hint of sweetness. Again I dispensed with the cinnamon (lest I have to buy stock in Penzey’s), but […]

Categories: apples, canning, citrus, cranberries, fall, preserving, spreads, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Apple Rhubarb Chutney with Fennel & Cardamom

17 November 2009 by local kitchen

Yet another in the long line of apple recipes, I know, but this one is a definite keeper. This chutney is delicious, and that comes from someone who doesn’t like cooked apples. Not even apple pie, apple butter, applesauce or apple jam. Nope, I only seem to like apple chutney and I think I’ve found my new favorite: apple rhubarb chutney with fennel & cardamom. The sweetness of apples, the tang of rhubarb, the licoricey bite of fennel and the subtle, […]

Categories: apples, canning, cherries, chutneys, condiments, fall, preserving, rhubarb, spring, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb

Winter Lager Mustard

16 November 2009 by local kitchen

I took a break from all sorts of apple recipes over the weekend to replenish Tai’s supply of my homemade mustard. We are down to one 4-oz jar of the last batch of cranberry habanero mustard, and the world knows no tragedy quite like the possibility of us running out of mustard, so a-mustard making I will go. Mustard is surprisingly easy to make. Although you need to soak the mustard seeds for a few hours, once that is done the whole process […]

Categories: condiments, mustard, non-local luxuries, wine, beer & liquor, winter, year round • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

(Virtually) No Stir Apple Butter

14 November 2009 by local kitchen

As I mentioned in the previous apple butter post, I was looking to try a “no-stir” oven version of apple butter. I’ve heard good things about Crock Pot (sorry, “slow cooker” would be the PC terminology of the day, but I prefer the old-fashioned Crock Pot) apple butter, but as I do not own one, I had to try it out in the oven. There are a few recipes out there on the Interwebs for apple butter reduced in the oven; oven […]

Categories: apples, canning, fall, preserving, spreads, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Salt & Cocoa Pumpkin Seeds

13 November 2009 by local kitchen

Ah! Sweet mystery of life at last I’ve found you! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before; I love pumpkin seeds, and make them every time I crack open a pumpkin. I love chocolate. And everyone knows that I’m a certified saltaholic. But somehow it’s never before occured to me to combine my three loves into one gorgeous, salty-sweet snack. Maybe it’s because I am making my pumpkin & kale mole for dinner with Amy tonight and I […]

Categories: chocolate, fall, non-local luxuries, quick & easy, vegetarian, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, food

Apple Parmesan Crumble

12 November 2009 by local kitchen

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! If that’s true, then Tai should be a very healthy boy. The apples are still flowing daily at our house; this recipe I’ve made three times now (in smaller, half-sized batches that I bake in a tart dish or small pie pan) and Tai is thoroughly enjoying it. This crumble is simple, relatively quick, and can be easily assembled while you are putting together dinner and popped into the oven in time for […]

Categories: apples, baking, dessert, fall, pie, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes

No Peel ‘Em Apple Butter

10 November 2009 by local kitchen

I’ve made apple butter each autumn for three years in a row now. It’s truly a labor of love, as I don’t really like cooked apples (with one notable exception) of any variety. I make applesauce, for my friend Christina, for the many, many babies in my life, and for baking. I make apple pies for friends, holidays and for Tai. Apple butter is definitely the most labor-intensive of all of my apple-preserving tricks, due to the seemingly endless stirring, […]

Categories: apples, breakfast, canning, condiments, dessert, fall, preserving, spreads, winter • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, recipes

Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Sage

8 November 2009 by local kitchen

I keep trying new pumpkin soup recipes, and I keep coming back to this one. Rich, hearty, creamy without a drop of cream, it derives it’s depth of flavor from the roasting of the vegetables, the interest of cardamom and cinnamon spice, and the lemony flavor and textural contrast of crispy sage leaf garnish. Delicious! Adapted (barely) from Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Sage Garnish in Homegrown: Pure and Simple by M. Nischan ————————————————————— Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Sage INGREDIENTS one […]

Categories: appetizer, fall, main course, sage, soup, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, pumpkin, recipes, soup, vegetarian