Minestrone

• 1 large “bunch” of Swiss Chard–about 12 huge leaves, or what would add up to this if you used smaller leaves.
• 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cans of cannellini (white) beans–15 oz
• 1 can of garbanzo
• 4 diced fresh carrots
• 2 tsp. chopped garlic
• 2 large zucchini-quartered lengthwise and in 1/4 in. pieces
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tsp. salt
• lots of fresh ground pepper–to taste
• 1 half of a large cabbage–chopped
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• parmesan cheese to put on top to serve.

Saute carrots and garlic. Carrots should begin to soften. While it is cooking, open cans and puree one can of the white beans. Add the zucchini, salt and pepper.  Add wine and cabbage, stir and cook about 3 minutes.  Add the pureed beans, the other can of white beans, the garbanzos (chickpeas) and the broth.  Simmer about 15 minutes.  Serve with a tablespoon of parmesan on top with fresh bread to sop up the delicious broth.

 

Swiss Chard

Huge bag of Swiss chard ready for sharing with my office, and making soup.

I have a trash bag full of Swiss chard from the garden.  It is totally mature (beginning to go to seed), and only suitable for soups, or it can be used like collard greens.  Swiss chard can be used in a salad when it is tender, can be steamed when it it a little more mature. However what I picked in my garden this past weekend is going to become a few soups.  I have a few that I will post–the first one is the best minestrone that I have ever had, and I have tweaked this to become my own.  I made a minestrone when I worked at Romagnoli’s, but I do believe that this one is better.  Eric loves this soup, and it doesn’t last long around here. Here is a picture of the bag of Swiss chard!

Strawberry season

Strawberries are very late this year due to a cool wet spring. I understand that the farm that I enjoy going to will be opening on the 8th. We will be making strawbery shortcake from my recipe for homemade biscuits, and plan on bringing some to Eric’s mother for Mother’s Day. We also plan on making some fresh strawberry ice cream in the near future also. I remember last years fondly. Shannon will be home for a bit for all of this, so it will be nice to enjoy that with her.

Irish Shepherd’s Pie

Authentic Irish Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb. However, that is harder to find where I live, so this is made with ground beef. This recipe has a very rich gravy, which really IS the recipe. I make this in stages, and will describe as follows.
7 potatoes
5 diced carrots
1 1/2 large vidalia onions
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2-3 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of red wine
1 small can of tomato paste
2 1/1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
2 cups peas
1 cup beef stock
1 egg beaten
cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese for cover
Make mashed potatoes using 7 medium potatoes. There really is an art to making mashed potatoes that I learned later in life than most. The trick is get the potatoes very tender so they pretty much fall apart. I use Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe cut into 3 inch cubes, cover with water, and let simmer while I chop the other vegetables.
I drain most of the water out, and whipped them with the electric mixer, added some milk, salt white pepper, and set them aside. They should be stiff enough so that they will sit on top of the meat mixture.

Meat mixture–Cut 5 carrots into small dice. Cut 1 1/2 LARGE vidalia onions into small dice. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and saute the carrots until they begin to be tender. Add the onions and saute. Add the meat, saute until cooked, and drain off the fat.
Add the can of tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and red wine. Stir and heat. Reduce, and then add flour to thicken slightly.
Lightly grease a 9″x14″ casserole dish, and place the above meat mixture in it. Place the reserved mashed potatoes on top. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place casserole in the oven for 15 minutes until potatoes begin to get stiff. Pull out and sprinkle with your choice of cheese. I used a mall bag of grated Cheddar for the one in the picture. Put back in for another 15 minutes or until cheese is browned.
Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup

The last thing to pick from the 2012 garden would be the leeks.  Leeks take close to 180 days to harvest, and are the vegetable that takes the longest to harvest that I grow.  Leeks are a very mild member of the onion family, and are absolutely delicious.  The recipe below has been modified from three different sources, and involves using a bouquet garni.  A bouquet garni involves fresh herbs cooked in a muslin bag in the stock. The herbs in this case are 2 bay leaves, 5  parsley stems, 4 springs of fresh thyme, and 20 peppercorns.  Do this first, and put it aside.

Either cook 3 pieces of bacon and cut in tiny pieces, or cut some salt port in tiny minced pieces. If you want to do a vegetarian version, omit this step.  Saute this up in two tablespoons of butter. 

Cut leeks in small (1/2″) pieces.  Use 3-4 large leeks.  Discard the rough external pieces.  Saute in the butter and bacon. Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine.  Put the bouquet garni in the pot and saute it.  Add 5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock.

Simmer for about 15 minutes with the bouquet garni releasing a wonderful fragrance.  Then take 2 pounds of potatoes, peel and slice into home fry size pieces.  Cut in fours after that, and then toss them into the mix.  Let simmer again for about 1/2 hour.

Add 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, 2 tablespoons of fresh chives and 1 teaspoon each of salt and white pepper.  Add 1/2 cup of cream.  Simmer for a few more minutes.  The smell is amazing:).  Enjoy.

Ingredient list:

3-4 large leeks , 2 pounds potatoes, 5 cups stock, 1/2 cup white wine.

Bouquet garni–20 black peppercorns, 5 parsley stems, 4 fresh thyme sprigs, and 2 bay leaves.

1 teaspoon of white pepper and salt, 2 tablespoons of butter.

 

Red Ale

Reblogged from lovenestbrewing:

We enjoyed Red Ale, which was our first batch of beer, so much that we are making another batch of this. It is now in a primary fermenter (this beer stuff has it's own language!) for a few more days. We are storing it in the bathtub. We can't wait to see how this turns out. It has been very bubbly.

Read more… 38 more words

This is Eric's new blog. We are going to enjoy the food, gardening and brew all at once:)

Hibernian Guinness Chicken Stew

This recipe was created for the Hibernian Irish Pub & Restaurant in Cary, NC by Corey Millett.  I have adapted it by using a roast chicken, so I eat some one night, and make the remainder into the stew.  The roast chicken taste is yummy, and I think adds quite a bit.  Then, of course, all the herbs I use are fresh, time of year permitting.  This recipe is very nourishing and smells amazing while it is cooking, due to the richness of the stout, the Worcheshire sauce and the fresh herbs.   Sliente!

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

1 huge onion, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cracked black pepper

4 garlic cloves

1 1/2teaspoons (fresh, if possible) rosemary

1 1/2 teaspoon thyme (fresh, if possible)

2 bottles stout

6 cups chicken stock

3 large potatoes (chopped into 1/2″ cubes)

2 pounds cooked chicken (roast chicken tastes great)

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 pound button mushrooms, quartered

Heat oil in stockpot.  Add celery, carrots, onions, 2 tablespoons salt, and 1 tablespoons black  pepper.  Sweat vegetables for 10 minutes.  Add garlic, rosemary and thyme. Saute 1-2 minutes.

Add stout.  Cook 10 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add potato, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Stir in chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove pot from stove and stir in mushrooms. Add in parsley.