December | 2009 |

Ginger & Orange Scones

29 December 2009 by local kitchen

It’s very cold here today, with temps in the teens and gusty winds up to 50 mph making it feel like 1 degree F. Brrrr! Wind is howling around our little cottage, but we are snug as bugs in a rug with the oven warming up the kitchen and the tropical flavors of orange and ginger making us dream of sunny beaches and warm breezes. This is another variation of my basic sweet scone recipe, with the added bonus of […]

Categories: baking, breakfast, citrus, dessert, non-local luxuries, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, breakfast, cooking, dessert, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Dark Days: Sausage & Pepper Pizza

28 December 2009 by local kitchen

Last night we had the happy coincidence of two friends traveling back home from Christmas celebrations, both of whom decided to stop and spend the night with us en route. We had a delicious, impromptu, and local dinner of sausage & pepper pizza, served up with Saranac ales, good conversation, and many laughs. Thanks, Frannie & Christina, for a great night! Happy holidays everyone! ————————————————————- Sausage & Pepper Pizza INGREDIENTS 1 recipe Quick(er) Whole Grain Pizza dough 1/2 lb smoked […]

Categories: 100% local, basil, cheese, Dark Days Local, main course, pizza, sausage, tomatoes, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

Black Bean Veggie Chili

27 December 2009 by local kitchen

As a nice respite from all of the rich, heavy holiday food, as well as a warm bowl of comfort food against the chill and dreary 39-degree rainy day, yesterday I made a big pot of chili. Packed full of veggies and protein-laden black beans, this dish is winter locavore cooking at its best: peppers chopped and quick-frozen back in August only need pouring into a measuring cup; sweet corn, blanched and cut off the cob, frozen at the peak of […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, carrot, celery, cilantro, corn, garlic, hot chile peppers, main course, parsley, stew, tomatoes, vegetarian, winter, year round • Tags: black bean, cooking, food, local, recipes

Dark Days: Swiss Chard Quiche Minis

21 December 2009 by local kitchen

Undaunted by the blizzard, a few intrepid souls made it to our annual Christmas party on Saturday night. Luckily for them, there was no shortage of yummy food on hand. My kitchen counter was groaning under the weight of this sausage bread, made with linguica and local smoked mozzarella, Wild Hive rosemary bread crostini with olive oil, garlic and basil, a selection of local cheeses, curried apple chutney, sweet cherry chutney, cranberry apple butter and cranberry sauce, homemade stuffed grape leaves […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, breakfast, cheese, Dark Days Local, eggs, kale & leafy greens, main course, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Asiago and Green Apple Omelet with Chipotle Bacon

18 December 2009 by local kitchen

Christimas is only a week away and it’s been a crazy week between cooking and prepping for our annual Christmas party, cleaning the house, decorating the tree, stringing the house lights, wrapping presents, writing holiday cards – phew! Add in a visit from Mom last weekend, my car breaking down (and the subsequent attempts at repairs by the long-suffering Tai), trying to get wedding thank-you notes out the door, and some last-minute jobs from clients, and it’s a wonder I’ve managed to […]

Categories: 100% local, apples, breakfast, cheese, eggs, main course, parsley, quick & easy, year round • Tags: cooking, eggs, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Lemony Mint Tea

16 December 2009 by local kitchen

If you live in the Northeast you had the same wet, wet, wet summer that I did. Horrible for tomatoes but awesome for water-loving mint. I had mint coming out of my ears, both from my garden and my CSA. I am embarrassed to admit how long it took me to think of drying mint for tea; I love mint tea, in fact, peppermint tea is one of the few that I drink on a regular basis. So, back in July […]

Categories: 100% local, herbs, mint • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Dark Days: Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast

14 December 2009 by local kitchen

Ever notice how when one thing runs out in your pantry everything else seems to follow? I had one of those weeks. We have a Christmas party every year, and I’ve been prepping all week. In making pastry dough for this apple pie and mini swiss chard quiches, I ran out of Wild Hive pastry flour and had to pick some up from the store (and let me tell you – Bob’s Red Mill is SO not the same!). Then I noticed that the all-purpose and […]

Categories: 100% local, Dark Days Local, herbs, main course, roasting, turkey, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Cranberry Sauce with Rosemary & Juniper Berry

12 December 2009 by local kitchen

This is a beautiful sauce, a gorgeous cranberry color flecked with deep purple bits of juniper berry. The juniper gives a hint of piney bite to the sauce while the rosemary adds a mellow, savory note. And I got to use the oh-so-cute, short & squat Ball Elite jars that I found up in Maine (they are impossible to find near me). The recipe is an amalgamation of several cranberry sauce recipes I’ve tried in the last couple of years, but was mainly inspired by this […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, cranberries, fall, holiday, preserving, rosemary, sauces, wine, beer & liquor, winter • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, cranberry, food, local, preserving, recipes

Apple Pectin Stock

8 December 2009 by local kitchen

When you are busy making all of those holiday apple pies, butters and desserts, don’t throw out the apple peels! Make apple pectin stock instead, and next summer you’ll be able to make 100% local jam with your homemade pectin. Sweet. Adapted (barely) from Homemade Pectin at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial ————————————————————- Apple Pectin Stock INGREDIENTS apple “leavings” (peels, cores and leftover bits from pie, jam or apple butter making, frozen is fine) filtered water METHODS Put apple leavings […]

Categories: 100% local, apples, canning, jams, preserving, stock • Tags: canning, cooking, food, homesteading, local, preserving, recipes

Sunday Spring Cleaning: Curried Pumpkin & Kale Stew

6 December 2009 by local kitchen

I’ve long been of the belief that, if you add enough curry to something, it’s bound to be good. This stew upholds the belief: nothing spectacular, just good, tasty, warm and comforting stew for a snowy New York Sunday. The bonus is that this was a freezer-clearing special: I used some cooked cranberry beans that were hanging out in the fridge, frozen pumpkin cubes leftover from this soup, frozen kale put-up this summer, plum tomatoes that I stuck in the freezer, whole, […]

Categories: beans, fall, heirloom beans, kale & leafy greens, main course, quick & easy, stew, tomatoes, vegetarian, winter, winter squash, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Rose’s Apple Pie

5 December 2009 by local kitchen

It’s a cold, grey drizzly day here in New York. What better time for an old-fashioned apple pie? As you may have noticed, Rose Levy Beranbaum is one of my baking heroes, and she doesn’t disappoint with this classic apple pie. The apples are macerated in sugar to release their juices and the sweetened and spiced apple juice reduced, with butter, to make a thick, caramel-like sauce to coat the apple filling. The pastry crust stays crisp, the apples have […]

Categories: apples, baking, dessert, fall, holiday, pastry, pie, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: apple pie, baking, cooking, dessert, food, holiday, local, pie, recipes, rose levy beranbaum, whole wheat pastry

Dark Days: Rhubarb Rosemary Pork Cutlets with Onion & Beet Sauce

4 December 2009 by local kitchen

Some meals are a revelation. Strangely enough, I often find that when I’m not really thinking about it, throwing something together from the contents of my fridge on a busy weeknight, is when I make my most startling discoveries. This meal fits the bill. I had those pork cutlets, of the not-cutlets-but-scones fame. They were thawed a couple of days ago and really needed to be cooked. (Not only am I completely obsessive about not wasting food, there has got to […]

Categories: Dark Days Local, jellies, main course, pork, rhubarb, roasting, rosemary, sage, spring, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Local cooking and eating in New York's Hudson Valley.

Monthly Archives: December 2009