Monthly Archives: January 2011

Orange Cranberry Marmalade

31 January 2011 by local kitchen

Well, it’s been six months since my last Ferbering, the bitch-slap that Fate likes to hand me now and then for daring to question the Queen of Confitures. I suppose it was about time, and I know it is all just payback for claiming that her jams are too sweet (philistine) or, even worse, not safe for canning (Mon Dieu!), but publishing a marmalade recipe with no added water just to get back at me? De trop, Madame. De trop. […]

Categories: canning, citrus, condiments, cranberries, holiday, preserves, preserving, winter, year round • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, cranberries, food, holiday, local, marmalade, preserving, recipes

Use It or Lose It! December/January Round-Up

28 January 2011 by local kitchen

It’s been nearly two months since my last Use It or Lose It! post: where has the time gone? Certainly I’ve been opening jars and using ’em up; it’s just that, if it’s not a new recipe, I don’t think about keeping track, or mentioning it on the blog. So I thought I would do a round-up of what I did with my bounty over the food- and fun-filled holiday season. When people ask me how I can stand to eat locally […]

Categories: Use it or Lose it! • Tags: cooking, dessert, food, jam, local, preserves, recipes

Cajun Sausage & Flageolet Stew

27 January 2011 by local kitchen

Because clearly what this blog needs is another stew recipe. And I don’t have enough to say about heirloom beans. Because my personal Spice Rack Challenge is to use the free sample spice mixes from Penzey’s for something other than pumpkin seeds. Because I haven’t been to the farmer’s market in three weeks and I’m down to one lonely carrot, 4 pumpkins and a few Trader Joe’s onions (she hangs her locavore head in shame) in the kitchen larder. Or maybe […]

Categories: beans, heirloom beans, main course, pork, sausage, stew, tomatoes, winter, year round • Tags: Cajun, cooking, flageolet, food, local, main course, recipes, sausage, stew

Dark Days: Crispy Baked Potato Skins

25 January 2011 by local kitchen

So, I hear that some large men in tights are going to be chasing a pointy ball around a grid-ironed field in a couple of weeks. Or at least, that seems to be what is going on in between the important parts: the commercials. If you, like most of America, are planning to gather with friends, watch commercials, keep a weather eye peeled for wardrobe malfunctions, and occasionally attest loudly that the team closest to your geographical region is much better than the losers on the other side of […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, cheese, Dark Days Local, fall, pork, potato, roasting, sausage, vegetarian, winter, year round • Tags: appetizer, cooking, food, local, potato, recipes, super bowl

Spicy, Gingery Cranberry Chutney

23 January 2011 by local kitchen

I’ve had this 5-lb bag of cranberries on the bottom shelf of my fridge since Thanksgiving. I usually buy 10 lbs of organic cranberries, every Fall when they are in season, from Cranberry Hill Farm on Cape Cod, then I make a few cranberry preserves and I freeze the rest for use throughout the year. One bag went directly into the chest freezer (do not Pass Go, do not collect $200), while the other bag went into the fridge: some of the […]

Categories: canning, chutneys, condiments, cranberries, fall, hot chile peppers, mint, preserving, winter, year round • Tags: canning, chutney, condiments, cooking, cranberries, fall, food, local, preserves, preserving, recipes, vegetarian

Space Solutions: Tower Shelf

21 January 2011 by local kitchen

As part of my ongoing effort to create a beautiful yet functional kitchen, I present to you today’s episode: The Tower Shelf. Now, tower shelves are hardly revolutionary, and they are particularly well known for working in small spaces: with a small footprint and a tall narrow shape, they are often the perfect solution for a lonely corner, tiny hallway or, in our case, floating in a room with all-too-little wall space. In our little cottage, with a 900-sf footprint […]

Categories: Space Solutions • Tags: de-clutter, kitchen, organizing, space solutions

Eggless Oatmeal Cookies

18 January 2011 by local kitchen

Hey, guess what? The weather is nasty. Well, it is winter after all, and it is the Northeast. Snow, sleet and freezing rain are to be expected, but a steady pummeling of “wintry mix” (that most cruel of winter weather euphemisms), temperatures hovering in the mid 20’s, and ice slicking the already-two-feet-worth of snow on the ground is reason enough to make me want to curl up on the couch with a mug of tea and a good book (or, in real life, a […]

Categories: baking, chocolate, dessert, oats, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cookies, cooking, dessert, eggless, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Dark Days: Local Corn Tortillas

16 January 2011 by local kitchen

I think next month’s Dark Days goal is going to be post two meals at least a week apart. Or maybe at least a post apart. Never let it be said that I cannot procrastinate with the best of ’em. Apparently, Arizona is still on my mind because I’ve been craving corn tortillas. I’ve wanted to try homemade corn tortillas for some time now, but there have always been a few problems with that plan: firstly, masa harina, the traditional corn […]

Categories: 100% local, breads, corn, techniques, year round • Tags: cooking, corn, food, homemade, how to, local, recipes, tortillas, vegetarian

Dark Days: Southwestern Pumpkin Soup

13 January 2011 by local kitchen

Dark days, indeed. This is not a political blog; this is a food blog. I know you don’t come here to hear what I think about current events of the day; you come here to find recipes, to hear about my kitchen escapades, maybe for a chuckle or two. But I can’t seem to formulate a happy-go-lucky post about canning, or kitchen organizing, or even soup, in the face of the tragedy unfolding in Arizona. I am not ashamed to […]

Categories: 100% local, cilantro, community, corn, Dark Days Local, fall, garlic, hot chile peppers, main course, soup, vegetarian, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, food, local, pumpkin, recipes, soup, vegetarian, winter

A Tale of Two Dutch Ovens

8 January 2011 by local kitchen

Note: For an update to this post, and some discussion of the new Staub, check out A Tale of Two Dutch Ovens: Redux. The hullabaloo of the holidays is behind us and a foot of snow is blanketing the hillsides here in New York. It’s the perfect time for soups, stews, long, slow braises that keep the kitchen warm and smelling delightful all day long, right? Well, maybe you already have your trusty Dutch oven all primed for a long & […]

Categories: tools & gear • Tags: cooking, dutch oven, le creuset, mario batali

Vaquero Bean & Chorizo Stew

6 January 2011 by local kitchen

Vaquero beans are so beautiful, I wish I had photographed some for you before I soaked them. They do, however, maintain their lovely markings even after cooking, along with their shape and a toothsome texture. This is a pretty classic bean stew: tomatoes, sausage, aromatic vegetables and a little cilantro or parsley to finish things off. Truly, any bean will work in this recipe, so why not take the opportunity to explore an heirloom varitety that you’ve never tasted? Rancho […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, main course, pork, sausage, stew, tomatoes, winter, year round • Tags: beans, chorizo, cooking, food, local, main course, pork, recipes, sausage, stew, tomatoes, winter

Browned Butter Rice Krispie Treats

4 January 2011 by local kitchen

You know how I’ve been organizing? Well, I had half a bag of these gigundo marshmallows leftover from Tai’s birthday weekend: seriously, these things were huge, too big for roasting over a fire, really, as the middle did not get melty even when you burned the crap out of the outside (my preferred marshmallow ‘technique’ – set ’em fire, blow ’em out, enjoy). And since my organizing fever tackled the Dread Food Cabinet (no, not “dreaded;” “dread” as in Dread Pirate Roberts), […]

Categories: dessert, non-local luxuries, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, quick & easy, recipes, rice krispie treats

My Favorite Posts of 2010

2 January 2011 by local kitchen

As promised, my top 10 list of favorite posts in 2010: some old favorite recipes, blogged about for the first time, some preserving experiments that came out just right, some geeky math and rule-breaking canning, and bacon, of course. I don’t care what they say – bacon will never die! Lemon Lavender Marmalade It seems fitting to kick off this year’s list with a Can Jam post: after all, it was the inaugural year of Tigress’ Can Jam (the first […]

Categories: community, year round • Tags: food, local, preserving, recipes, top ten