Category Archives: Use it or Lose it!

Use It or Lose It! Barbecue Chicken Tacos

13 March 2014 by local kitchen

Do you ever overcook chicken breasts? It can happen in a flash, right? Do you like the dark meat, but are not such a fan of the white, or vice versa? I’m not touching that one. Do you have a dozen jars of random preserves in the fridge, each with two or three tablespoons languishing in the bottom? If not, can I come over and borrow some fridge space? Do you like tacos? Who doesn’t? If you answered “yes” to any […]

Categories: braising, chicken, main course, Use it or Lose it!, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Finnish Jam Tarts

9 December 2013 by local kitchen

My great-grandfather emigrated from Finland. From which area of the country, I have no idea, since talking about our roots is not something that we really do in my family. Despite the fact that I remember him (although I thought, as a child of 3 or so, that he was my grandmother’s husband, not her father: there’s no difference between 60 and 80 years old when you are a kid, I guess), I know very little about him, save his […]

Categories: baking, dessert, holiday, Use it or Lose it!, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cookies, cooking, food, holiday, local, recipes

Roasted Fresh Ham with Red Currant Glaze

17 November 2013 by local kitchen

Did I mention that I’ve got a lot of pork? Yes, yes I do. And I’m trying to make some room in the very stuffed chest freezer for chicken stock, bell peppers, pumpkin purée; the last put-ups of the season, really, before the snow flies. One good way to clear out a chunk of freezer real estate is to cook a roast. “Fresh” ham is pork from the leg, but not cured or smoked (and hence not pink) like a […]

Categories: main course, pork, roasting, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, pork, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Jam & Almond Crumb Bars

5 November 2013 by local kitchen

A few weeks ago, in the midst of birthday and anniversary celebrations, rock climbing, hiking and mountain biking excursions, and all around amazing-Fall-weather craziness, Tai & I went to a house party hosted by one of his colleagues and fellow rock climbing guides up in the Gunks. It was sort of a potluck, with friends requested to bring either a dessert or a side dish; Tai brags about my cooking to these guys all the time, so of course I […]

Categories: baking, breakfast, dessert, jams, nuts, snack, Use it or Lose it!, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, jam, local, quick & easy, recipes

Double Chocolate Ombré Cake {Kami’s Cake 2013}

25 April 2013 by local kitchen

For longer than I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve been making birthday cakes for my friend Kami. There have been successes (a fantastic strawberry-pink yellow cake with a piped frosting garden by Tai the Pastry Chef, a lovely golden orange mousseline cake with royal icing butterflies) and disasters (an attempt at this cake that looked, well, absolutely nothing like that, and the Great Kami Cake Disaster of Aught-Nine); regardless, there has always been fun and laughter, good food and love. And while […]

Categories: baking, cake, holiday, spring, Use it or Lose it!, year round • Tags: baking, cake, cooking, dessert, holiday, recipes

Put ’em Up! Fruit: Classic Blueberry Jam, Pan-Roasted Chicken with Blueberry Reduction, and A Giveaway

11 April 2013 by local kitchen

By now, you’ve heard about Put ’em Up! Fruit, the new book from Sherri Brooks Vinton, right? I mean, Marisa was dishing about it, as was Sean, and Autumn made the glorious sounding lemon, red onion & oregano jam. And with giveaways all over the blogosphere for the next two weeks, surely it won’t be long before you have a copy in your hot little hands. Right? When Storey Publishing emailed to ask if I’d like to participate in a […]

Categories: berries, chicken, jams, main course, preserving, quick & easy, roasting, Use it or Lose it!, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: canning, chicken, cooking, dinner, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Drunken Cherry Chicken

20 March 2013 by local kitchen

In addition to my main stores in the garage pantry, I keep a small stash of jarred goods in a corner of one of my way-too-deep and inconveniently-high kitchen cabinets (the extra-convenient one above the fridge). I was pawing through the jars the other day (balanced precariously on the invaluable kitchen step stool), hoping I could avoid a snowy trip downstairs to pick up a jar of salsa, when I unearthed a dusty jar of drunken cherries: from 2009. Oops. […]

Categories: braising, cherries, chicken, main course, Use it or Lose it!, wine, beer & liquor, winter • Tags: cherries, chicken, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Ancho Braised Beef Tacos

18 May 2012 by local kitchen

Chapter 2 in The Beef Chronicles: spicy Mexican braised beef tacos. The last episode found our intrepid heroine eating beef for the first time in 25 years: specifically, berry-braised beef with blackberry reduction. And while that recipe was a resounding success in the husband-pleasing department, and our heroine managed to eat a bite or two without significant gastro-intestinal distress, it wasn’t the most enjoyable of meals. The rice and blackberry sauce were her favorite part. Fast forward nearly two months (Can you believe […]

Categories: 100% local, beef, bell pepper, braising, main course, tomatoes, Use it or Lose it!, year round • Tags: beef, cooking, food, local, Mexican, recipes

Berry-Braised Beef with Herbed Chèvre Rice & Blackberry Reduction

27 March 2012 by local kitchen

The last time I ate beef was the summer of 1987. I remember it quite well: I was home from college, working in Boston as a temp secretary for a rather stuffy accounting firm down at South Station, and living out near Boston College with some friends. The father of one of my roommates was in town on business and decided to take “us girls” out to dinner. He chose Anthony’s Pier 4, which was a bit of a thrill […]

Categories: 100% local, beef, berries, braising, meat & dairy, parsley, Use it or Lose it!, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: beef, cooking, dinner, food, local, main course, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Bean & Sausage Chili

22 March 2012 by local kitchen

It’s not like this site really needs another heirloom bean recipe; and I think I’ve fairly covered the spectrum of pork sausage possibilities. But this recipe isn’t really about beans, or sausage, or even chili for that matter: it’s about how “putting up” isn’t just about jam. And about how put-ups aren’t always meant to stand alone: while some, it’s true, are glorious on the oft-recommended cheese tray, I could eat a cheese tray for dinner every night of the […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, bell pepper, fall, heirloom beans, main course, pork, sausage, tomatoes, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: chili, cooking, food, local, main course, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Salsa-Braised Turkey Breast with Chile & Citrus Peel

4 March 2012 by local kitchen

Take half a turkey breast: brown the outside. Add it to a pot with liquid and vegetables. Simmer. Rest meat, reduce sauce, serve. Such a simple procedure and one I’ve done many times, often, like now, when I have things that need clearing out of the fridge and freezer: an open pint of salsa; a gallon Ziploc full of fat, frozen jalapeños; another jammed with citrus peels. It’s generally tasty, sometimes ugly, but almost always satisfying in the filling-up and using-up categories. Occasionally, […]

Categories: braising, citrus, hot chile peppers, main course, turkey, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, quick & easy, recipes, turkey

Use It or Lose It! Cranberry Marmalade Sauce

24 November 2011 by local kitchen

For a truly last-minute cranberry sauce: bag o’ cranberries + jar o’ marmalade + 20-minute simmer = Thanksgiving cranberry perfection! If you have a jar of marmalade that set like a rock (like mine of last year), check out my recipe below. If yours came out a bit loose, check out Shae’s version, a cranberry-marm-apple relish. Either way, you can’t go wrong; cranberries are always good. Enjoy the day, everyone! ———————————————————– Cranberry Marmalade Sauce INGREDIENTS 2 cups cranberries, fresh or […]

Categories: cranberries, fall, holiday, preserving, sauces, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: berries, condiments, cooking, cranberries, fall, food, holiday, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes, thanksgiving

Use It or Lose It! Jam + Cream Cheese Frosting

27 July 2011 by local kitchen

Nearly every year, I make at least two birthday cakes: one is for my friend Kami, a practically-grown-up girl of seven this April, and one is for Kami’s mother Nadine, who as of last weekend was old enough to have a seven year-old daughter but young enough to squeal with glee at the thought of birthday cake. I’ve had my trials (who can forget the Great Kami’s Birthday Cake Debacle of ’09) and my successes (the orange mousseline buttercream cake turned out particularly lovely) […]

Categories: baking, cake, cheese, dessert, jams, Use it or Lose it!, year round • Tags: baking, cake, cooking, dessert, food, frosting, local, quick & easy, recipes

Use It or Lose It! Sugar Snap Peas Glazed with Pear & Fennel

13 June 2011 by local kitchen

After my oh-so healthy breakfast, I decided that some vegetables were in order for lunch. And since I am trying to get some work done today, a quick & easy lunch was also in order. Enter glazed sugar snap peas. I picked up about a pound of sugar snap peas from Migliorelli Farm at my farmer’s market on Saturday. Sugar snaps are one of my favorite Spring vegetables: coming in right at the tail end of asparagus season, their fresh, green sweetness consoles […]

Categories: pears, peas, quick & easy, side dish, spring, summer, Use it or Lose it!, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, fennel, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, sugar snap peas, vegetarian

Use It or Lose It! Meyer Lemon Pork Rolls

10 May 2011 by local kitchen

Earlier this year, when I was busily turning winter’s citrus into marmalades and jams, I lamented to Shae that I was a bit disappointed with my first foray into Meyer lemons. “I mean, they are nice enough,” I said, “but I don’t really see what all the fuss is about. I keep thinking I would like them better if they were more, well, lemony.” Shae responded that Meyers are quite soft-skinned and not as hardy as other citrus fruits, so they lose […]

Categories: citrus, main course, pork, spring, Use it or Lose it!, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, dinner, food, local, main course, pork, recipes