Tag: local

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

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

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

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

Dark Days: Green Salad with Jam & Buttermilk Dressing

31 December 2010 by local kitchen

And to ring in the New Year – salad! OK, I know it’s not very exciting. But in the midst of a busy holiday season filled with cookies and pie, pizza and peppermint bark, chocolate cake balls and artichoke dip, cranberry nut bread and eggnog, mac & cheese and yet more pie, well, the thought of a crisp green salad gets my mouth watering. So when I saw some heads of cold-frame lettuce at the last farmer’s market before the holidays, […]

Categories: 100% local, Dark Days Local, main course, quick & easy, salad, winter • Tags: cooking, dark days, food, local, quick & easy, salad, vegetarian

Dark Days: Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew

27 December 2010 by local kitchen

Snowpocalypse 2010 dumped about a foot and a half of snow on us, as we snuggled cozy and warm in our little cottage, snacking on popcorn and watching cheesy movies in day-after-Christmas bliss. Today, although the winds still howled, the sun appeared along with bright blue skies, and we forced our way out the door against 3-foot snow drifts in order to shovel out. A couple of hours later, with a clear deck, stairs and driveway, lunch was definitely in […]

Categories: 100% local, chicken, Dark Days Local, hot chile peppers, kale & leafy greens, main course, potato, stew, tomatoes, winter • Tags: chicken, cooking, dark days, food, local, recipes, winter

Cranberry Walnut Galette

26 December 2010 by local kitchen

Hapy Boxing Day, everyone! I owe you a couple of Dark Days posts, but as usual, I’m procrastinating until the last minute. So instead, I’ll tell you about this wonderful cranberry galette that I made for our annual Christmas party a couple of days ago. This may well be the perfect holiday dessert: it’s beautiful enough for a fancy dinner party yet rustic enough for a simple family meal; it is gourmet without being fussy and wihout making you search […]

Categories: 100% local • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, fall, food, local, recipes, vegetarian, winter

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

22 December 2010 by local kitchen

From the archives ~ A Christmas tradition Chez Porter. Now updated with weights and non-crappy (well, less crappy) photos! Merry, merry! ———————————————————– When I was a kid, my Mom always made cranberry nut bread around the holidays. Now, I’m 99% certain that this was from a mix; my Mom was (and is) a horrible cook. But I loved this bread, and to this day, cranberry nut bread reminds me of Christmas. Mom is coming up from Asheville, NC tomorrow; she’s […]

Categories: baking, breakfast, citrus, cranberries, eggs, fall, non-local luxuries, nuts, winter, year round • Tags: baking, bread, breakfast, cooking, cranberries, food, local, recipes, walnuts

Dry-Brined Roasted Turkey

19 December 2010 by local kitchen

What do you cook for Christmas Day? Do you have a leisurely day of cranberry nut bread and eggnog, like we do? Do you whip up a full breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes? Or do you go all out with a traditional dinner, roasted turkey or goose, plum pudding and the works? Just in case roasted turkey is on your Christmas dinner agenda, I thought I would share my Thanksgiving turkey recipe with you: a simple dry-brine with sage, bay and orange […]

Categories: citrus, fall, holiday, main course, roasting, sage, turkey, winter • Tags: cooking, dry-brine, food, holiday, local, main course, recipes, turkey

Dark Days: Spicy Basil Roasted Chicken

15 December 2010 by local kitchen

Chicken is difficult. Not difficult in that it is tasteless, bland, rubbery, spongy or just plain boring: I never find those things to be true about organically-fed, pastured, humanely-raised chicken. Not difficult in that it’s too hard to cook: in fact, roasted chicken is one of the easiest dishes I make. Chicken, that most ubiquitous of American meat staples, is difficult because it is hard to find. My regular local chicken guy used to be Pat of New England Farms. Pat […]

Categories: 100% local, basil, chicken, Dark Days Local, hot chile peppers, main course, roasting, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, main course, recipes, roasting, winter

Gifts: Food Gifts, Local & Far-Flung

14 December 2010 by local kitchen

‘Tis the season for fabulous food gifts from near & far! Small or large, fresh or preserved, local or luxuriously exotic, these are some of my favorite food items to give and receive. Check ’em out – you may just find the perfect gift for someone on your holiday list. But act fast – Christmas is a week from Saturday (yikes!). Merry, merry! Tuthilltown Spirits Local wine is pretty easy to find in New York & Connecticut; local booze? Not so […]

Categories: gifts, holiday, winter • Tags: food, food gifts, holiday, local

Dark Days: Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Roasted Pumpkin Seed Oil

13 December 2010 by local kitchen

I’m participating, along with a whole lot of other bloggers, in (not so) Urban Hennery’s Dark Days Challenge again this year: the challenge being to eat one meal a week that is made exclusively from SOLE (sustainable, organic, local & ethical) ingredients and to blog about it. Since local eating, and with that, sustainable, organic, humane and ethical eating, is the norm around here, the challenge for me is to make more 100% local meals, without any of my standard exceptions (olive oil, […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, Dark Days Local, main course, quick & easy, scallions, stir-fry, winter, winter squash, year round • Tags: cooking, food, gnocchi, local, pasta, pumpkin, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Indian-Spiced Apple Butter

9 December 2010 by local kitchen

Want to give homemade gifts this holiday season, but you didn’t spend the summer squirreling away the season’s bounty? Never fear: apples to the rescue! Apples are still abundant at area farmer’s markets and there is a dizzying array of options for holiday gift giving: from applesauce (great for new parents or friends with toddlers), jam (quick & easy, with no worrying about the ‘set’) and jelly, to chutneys, spiced or spicy (fantastic hostess gift and great on a cheese tray), […]

Categories: apples, breakfast, canning, fall, holiday, preserving, spreads, winter • Tags: apples, canning, condiments, cooking, fall, food, fruit butter, holiday, local, preserving, recipes, vegetarian