food | | Page 44

Canning in a Boiling Water Bath

15 February 2009 by local kitchen

Almost every local eater in the Northeast is going to want to ‘preserve the harvest;’ pack away the bounty of the growing season at it’s peak of freshness and flavor, and store it against the coming winter. Even if you are lucky enough to have a convenient winter farmer’s market near you, homemade preserves break up the monotony of a winter diet and it’s also the most economical way to eat – strawberries, blueberries & tomatoes might be $2/pound in peak season, […]

Categories: canning, preserving • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local

234

Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi

14 February 2009 by local kitchen

Have you ever made gnocchi from scratch? Chances are, if you have, your first attempt was less than stellar: dense, miniature hockey pucks of gummy dough rather than light, airy pillows of flavor, beautifully grooved and dimpled to catch your favorite sauce. Gnocchi are not difficult, any more than homemade bread or scones are difficult, but it does take a bit of practice, as well as a bit of confidence in the kitchen, to get it right. Maybe that’s why […]

Categories: 100% local, cheese, herbs, pasta, spinach, spring, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, Italian, local, pasta, recipes, whole grain flour

Whole Milk Ricotta

9 February 2009 by local kitchen

Ricotta cheese is typically made from the whey that is leftover from making ewe’s milk cheese. This whole milk version is similar in technique, yet you can make it from milk that you pick up at the market (or farm) and it has a much higher yield than whey ricotta. Homemade ricotta is ridiculously easy to make, tastes delicious, and you control the texture; rich & creamy or drier with a more intense cheese flavor. The ingredients are exactly as […]

Categories: 100% local, cheese, meat & dairy, milk, preserving, quick & easy, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Cranberry-Orange Scones

6 February 2009 by local kitchen

It’s that time of year again: the dreaded Valentine’s Day looms, like a visit to the DMV or a root canal, just around the corner. It was quite ingenious, I will admit, to invent a holiday that irritates everyone: single, married, or dating, there is just no getting away from V-day. So, what’s a girl to do? I don’t really know, other than avoiding going out to dinner (it’s got to be the worst night of the year for a restaurant […]

Categories: baking, breads, breakfast, citrus, cranberries, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, berries, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, whole grain breads, winter

Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup

2 February 2009 by local kitchen

One of the nice things about being a locavore, or a mostly-locavore (mocavore?), like me, is that you did all sorts of prep work back at the harvest and now you get to reap the benefits. People tend to think that eating locally in the Northeast in winter is all about deprivation; this hearty pumpkin soup is anything but. I keep diced organic pumpkin, chopped local garlic and tablespoon-sized portions of tomato paste in the freezer; all I have to do is […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, chickpeas, fall, soup, vegetarian, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, main course, quick & easy, recipes, soup, vegetarian, winter

Whole Wheat Crackers

2 February 2009 by local kitchen

Somehow, I find, it’s always the simplest homemade foods that impress people the most: mustard, pasta, crackers. I’ve made these crackers many, many times over the years and people are always impressed: in fact, more than once I’ve heard, “It never occurred to me that you could make crackers!” But make crackers you can, and quite easily too. At their most basic, crackers are simply flour, water and a bit of fat, with a healthy dose of salt for flavor. […]

Categories: 100% local, snack, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

29 January 2009 by local kitchen

Sweet and savory, delicious and nutritious, a vegetable and a dessert: pumpkin bread is all things to all men. And women. And dogs, if they can get their paws on some. (Although I suspect cats would just bat it around for awhile before disdainfully leaving the room to find some furniture to ruin. But I digress). Pumpkin bread, like pumpkin itself, is a lovely thing. This one is nicely spiced, not too sweet, easy to make, and stores well. And? […]

Categories: baking, breads, breakfast, chocolate, dessert, fall, nuts, Use it or Lose it!, whole wheat flour, winter, winter squash • Tags: baking, cooking, fall, food, local, pumpkin, recipes, whole grain breads

Cranberry Habanero Mustard

28 January 2009 by local kitchen

Cranberries & habanero peppers: two of my favorite things. It’s so unfortunate that I really loathe mustard, because this condiment would be right up my alley: spicy, gingery, puckery, gorgeously pink-hued. Alas, the mustard and I, we just don’t get along. The husband, though, is a mustard-loving fool (hence the plethora of Evil Seed recipes herein), as are many other people: homemade mustard is a gift that never fails to impress, yet is simple & thrifty to make. As one […]

Categories: canning, condiments, cranberries, fall, hot chile peppers, mustard, preserving, year round • Tags: canning, chiles, condiments, cooking, cranberries, food, mustard, recipes

Local Cranberry Chutney

28 January 2009 by local kitchen

I love cranberries and I am always looking for new ways to preserve them for enjoyment all year round. This recipe is adapted from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and from Leda Meredith’s Basic Chutney recipe on Leda’s Urban Homestead. This chutney is spicy and flavorful; the habaneros deliver quite a kick that is balanced nicely with local honey. Serve on a sandwich with turkey & brie, put on a cheese platter with crackers or whole wheat focaccia, or make […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, chutneys, cranberries, fall, hot chile peppers, preserving • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Kaela’s Chicken Soup

28 January 2009 by local kitchen

Chicken soup is pure comfort food. Everyone has their favorite recipe and most have strong opinions; rice, pasta, or potatoes, peas or no peas, homemade stock or canned. I’ve made this recipe for years – the original was from a lovely little cookbook called For Goodness’ Sake by Terry Joyce Blonder (unfortunately, now out of print). My adaptation does change with the seasons and depending on what vegetables I have in the fridge. My fiance likes what he calls “chicken shtoup;” when […]

Categories: carrot, celery, chicken, herbs, main course, parsley, soup, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, main course, quick & easy, recipes, soup