Fresh Pear Vinaigrette

Pears - pear - pears ... they are ripening ... SAVE a few ripe pears for this yummy Salad!

By:  The Runaway Spoon

This is particularly good on dark leafy spinach, and I love to add to the fall flavor by tossing the salad with dried cranberries and toasted walnuts, a little blue cheese, and if you have fresh pear, some nice juicy chunks.  And this is a great way to use up that last pitiful, lonely soft pear left in the fruit bowl.  Oh, and if you happen to have a bottle of pear-infused white balsamic, feel free to use it.

Fresh Pear Vinaigrette

Walnut oil adds a nice depth and nuttiness, but if you don’t have any, use all olive oil.

1 large ripe pear, peeled and cored

Juice of one small lemon

1 Tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ cup white wine or white balsamic vinegar

¼ cup walnut oil

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Cut the pear into chunks and drop in the carafe of a blender with the lemon juice.  Purée, then add the sugar, salt and pepper.  Add the vinegar and blend well.  With the blender running, drizzle in the oils until you have a nice, thick emulsified dressing.

The dressing can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 8 hours.  Shake well before using.

Makes ¾ cups

Remember the Gable House?

Sharon R. shared this recipe with me earlier this month - it was the tomato soup recipe that was once used at the Gable House in St. George, Utah .... yummy!   I'm making some today!!  

p.s.  you're going to want FRESH Tomatoes for this one!!

 

FRESH TOMATO SOUP

 

(Gable House/St.George)

 

2-cups water

5-lbs. tomatoes (skinned & seeded)

4-cups diced celery (inner white stalks)

3-large onions (diced)

1-cup sugar (+or-) depending on acidy

   of tomatoes

2-Tbs. salt

1/4-cup parsley (chopped)

1-Tbs. pickling spice (+ or -) to taste

Cut and X in the bottom of each tomato.

Drop in a pan of boiling water of 30 to 45

   seconds.  Remove from the water and

   drop into a pan of ice water.

Skin the tomatoes, cut into quarters and

   seed.

Place the tomatoes, onions, celery, parsley,

   water, salt and pickling spice in to a large

   soup pot.  Bring to a boil, turn down the heat

   and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2-hours.

Cool slightly and then blend with an immersion

   blender or put into a blender in small

   batches.  Blending smooth.

Server with a dollop of unsweetened whipped

   cream or sour cream on top. 

(This soup will freeze well)           Enjoy! 

Seeing RED!!

It's been a cold winter - colder than usual for us here in Southern Utah.  I'm more than ready to get in the dirt and start planting wonderful things to eat.  RED Tomato Wednesday's is a welcome reprieve from the grey winter we are in!   These "hot house" tomatoes are picked ripe from the Castle Valley Greenhouses just up the "street" in New Castle.  Traveling less than 60 miles - packed with nutrition, fresh, sweet, and bursting with flavor ... I can't wait!!

Here are a few recipes I love to make with my fresh Utah tomatoes!!  (SEND me your favorite tomato recipes & I'll share them! .... ichowlocal@gmail.com)

Kaladaiscope Salad

Ingredients:

·         3 Vine ripe tomatoes diced

·         2 mangos – peeled, cubed

·         2 avocados – peeled, cubed

·         1 orange bell pepper, chopped

·         1 Cup fresh blueberries

·         1 Red onion, chopped

·         ½ bunch cilantro, chopped

·         ¼ C fresh lime juice

·         ½ C pineapple juice

Directions:

Mix lime & pineapple juices together.  Place all other ingredients into a large bowl.  Pour juice over the top, stir until combined.  Serve immediately for freshest results.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fresh Tomato & Feta

“Olives, tomatoes, red onion & cucumbers are outfitted with olive oil and a splash of lemon juice & finished with crumbled feta cheese”

Ingredients:

·         3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

·         2 cucumbers, peeled & chopped

·         1 small red onion, chopped

·         ¼ C olive oil

·         4 tsp lemon juice

·         1 ½ tsp dried Oregano

·         Salt & Pepper to taste

·         1 C crumbled Feta cheese

·         6 black green olives, pitted and sliced.

Directions:

Combine tomatoes, cucumber & onion.  Sprinkle with oil, lemon juice, oregano & salt & pepper to taste.  Sprinkle feta cheese & olives over salad. 

 -------------------------------------------------  ************  ----------------------

Quinoa with Tomatoes & Mint

Ingredients:

·         2 ½ C Water

·         1 ¼ C Quinoa

·         1/3 C raisins

·         1 pinch salt

·         2 Medium tomatoes, diced

·         1 Medium onion, minced

·         10 radishes, quartered

·         ½ Cucumber, diced

·         3 T sliced almonds, toasted

·         ¼ C chopped fresh mint

·         2 T chopped fresh parsley

·         1 tsp ground cumin

·         ¼ C lime juice

·         2 T sesame oil

Directions:

1.        Bring water to boil.  Pour in Quinoa, raisins and a pinch of salt.  Cover, let simmer for 12-15 minutes, then remove from heat & allow to cool to room temperature.

2.       Toss tomatoes, onion, radish, cucumber & almonds in a large bowl.  Stir in the cooked quinoa, then season with mint, parsley, cumin, lime juice, sesame oil and salt.  Chill 1-2 hours before serving.

 ***************************************************

Tomato, Red Onion & Chickpea Salad

“Make sure you chill this salad – it makes all the difference”

 

Ingredients:

·         19 oz Garbanzo Beans, drained (or soak & cook your own)

·         2 T Red onion, chopped

·         2 Cloves of Garlic, minced

·         1 Tomato, chopped

·         ½ C chopped parsley

·         3 T Olive Oil

·         1 T Lemon juice

·         Salt  Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine everything.  Chill for 2 hours before serving.  Taste & adjust the seasonings the way you like them. 

Evelyn's Old Fashioned Honey Candy

Honey Candy:
Ingredients:2 cups melted honey (I always use Cox's Honey)
1 cup cream
1 cup sugar
butter (or butter-flavored cooking spray)
Directions:
Combine the first 3 ingredients and cook slowly on medium heat until it forms a hard ball when you drop it into ice water. It took me about an hour. As the mixture gets close to being done, the bubbles from the boil will get a lot smaller and closer together. Pour the mixture onto a buttered cooking sheet. When cooled, pull with buttered hands. Stretch, twist and pull until firm (this is the fun part! ) and then form into long ropes and place on waxed paper. Cut into bite size pieces. If you want, you can roll them in powdered sugar and wrap them in wax paper.

Read more at http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/10/honey-candy.html#pw0o7VMX3UhT0hBv.99

Honey Candy:
Ingredients:2 cups melted honey (I always use Cox's Honey)
1 cup cream
1 cup sugar
butter (or butter-flavored cooking spray)
Directions:
Combine the first 3 ingredients and cook slowly on medium heat until it forms a hard ball when you drop it into ice water. It took me about an hour. As the mixture gets close to being done, the bubbles from the boil will get a lot smaller and closer together. Pour the mixture onto a buttered cooking sheet. When cooled, pull with buttered hands. Stretch, twist and pull until firm (this is the fun part! ) and then form into long ropes and place on waxed paper. Cut into bite size pieces. If you want, you can roll them in powdered sugar and wrap them in wax paper.

Read more at http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/10/honey-candy.html#pw0o7VMX3UhT0hBv.99

Honey Candy:
Ingredients:2 cups melted honey (I always use Cox's Honey)
1 cup cream
1 cup sugar
butter (or butter-flavored cooking spray)
Directions:
Combine the first 3 ingredients and cook slowly on medium heat until it forms a hard ball when you drop it into ice water. It took me about an hour. As the mixture gets close to being done, the bubbles from the boil will get a lot smaller and closer together. Pour the mixture onto a buttered cooking sheet. When cooled, pull with buttered hands. Stretch, twist and pull until firm (this is the fun part! ) and then form into long ropes and place on waxed paper. Cut into bite size pieces. If you want, you can roll them in powdered sugar and wrap them in wax paper.

Read more at http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/10/honey-candy.html#pw0o7VMX3UhT0hBv.99

Now that you are anticipating the arrival of our Utah Raw Honey you're going to need some scrumptious ways to use it - besides bathing your toast in it every morning!  Evelyn shared it with me just last week ...

Evelyn's Old Fashioned Honey Candy Recipe
by Evelyn Worthington

2 C sugar
1 C softened honey*
1 C Heavy Cream
1/2 C Real Butter

Mix in a 4 quarter pan until it boils.  Then turn the stove down and cook to a hard-ball stage.  You can test for this by dropping a bit of the candy syrup into ice water - it needs to hold it's shape but is still pliable.  I've also noticed the bubbles get smaller and closer together as the candy approaches the hard-ball stage. 

Take off the stove, add 1/2 tsp soda; add nuts if you want to.  Pour into a well buttered pan.
Let it cool well.
Turn upside down on a board or wax paper and cut it into bite size squares (about 1 1/2 inches).
You can even sprinkle with powdered sugar before wrapping them in 5x5 cellophane caramel papers.  I get mine from Gygi in SLC, Utah.  It saves a ton of time cutting those little buggers up. 


* you can soften raw honey by bringing water in a pot to a boil.  Once it's boiling, turn off the heat, place a jar lid on the bottom of the pot and place the tub of honey on to the jar lid.  If the honey doesn't completely soften the first time, repeat the process.  Just be sure you are not boiling or cooking the honey.  It needs to melt slowly using a medium low heat. 

I'm a Prepper Foodie .... with a Group!

... All these years of researching, taking classes, experimenting, learning, trying again ... being a foodie best fits with the passion I have for EATING, Cooking and making sure there is enough food for my family.  I love - love - love being self sufficient, stocking an in-home pantry, growing my own food, understanding nutrition, creating connections between the growers and consumers - finding deals and expanding local resources. 

The preparedness part is really synonymous with my love of eating.  I can't tolerate the thought of ever being in a situation that my little ones would go hungry. 

Additionally, as intolerable as being hungry would be; the monotony of typical food storage cooking wouldn't be fun either.  So, I began to look for ways to economically acquire foods that would create variety in my personal prepper-foodie plan.  I quickly found that I had much more leverage for pricing if I could order in larger quantities.  So - the group ordering hub was created - the parent company is The Chilly Lizard Trading Post and the store front is www.ichowlocal.com. 


In a nut shell; Group Ordering and information sharing is ...  

• me finding products as close to the supplier, farmer & grower as possible;
• letting other's know;
• collecting the orders
• and then arranging to bring it in.   

By joining forces in this way - I've met some amazing people!  We've been able to expand our resources, our connections, and our purchasing power.   Together we are becoming more healthy, better informed, well prepared & self sufficient.   Being part of this active community WITH you has inspired me and strengthened my resolve to continue expanding our network and making this process EASY for others.

Here are some upcoming products we will be ordering in the next couple of months:

• Raw Utah Honey
• Oats (all kinds)
• Brown Rice Flour
• Tapioca Flour
• Sorghum Flour
• Hard White Wheat
• Multiple spices
• Bulk cleaning supplies
• Solar Cookers
• Gun Holsters
• Fresh tomatoes
• Fresh potatoes
• Fresh salad greens

Go to www.ichowlocal.com to see the latest offerings, ordering deadlines and delivery dates. 

See you soon!   Robin

What do you know about CORN?

According to Widipedia:  (which of course knows everything) ...  Sweet corn occured as a spontaneous mutation in field corn and was grown by several early Native American tribes.  The Iroquois gave the first recorded sweet corn (called Papoon ... kind of like that name) to European Settlers in 1779.  It soon became a popular food in southern and central regions of the United States.

Open pollinated varieties of white sweet corn started to become available in the U.S. in the 19th Century.  Hybridization, which is what we see most of now, allows for more uniform maturity, improved quality and disease resistance.  This is not to be confused with GMO.  Do your own research between hybrid's and GMO's to gain a greater understanding of what can impact our foods.

Anyway - back to the corn.  We have the opportunity to get Sweet Corn grown in Enterprise for the next few weeks.  Serendipity is the sweet corn we will be receiving.  Corn evokes powerful memories in me, everything from crunching down on a sweet cob of corn as a child; tasting the ice cold creaminess of brazillian milho verde (corn ice cream) to driving through the corn fields of Nebraska and being pelted by giant field bugs as they hit our wind shield.  Not a pretty site --

Well, when you get tired of eating your baggies of frozen corn ...  here's a few NEW recipes for you  --  Corn Pudding and Corn Ice Cream ...  This next recipe was revised from The Technicolor Kitchen Blog

This corn pudding is traditionally served during the June Festival in Brazil. It's a sweet pudding made from corn, milk, and sugar, sprinkled with cinnamon, and served cold.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 ears of fresh corn
• 3 cups of milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Scrape the kernels off of the ears of corn.
2. Place the corn in a blender (or food processor) with the milk, and blend well, for at least 3 minutes.
3. Strain the corn/milk mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a pot. Discard the fibrous parts of the kernels that remain in the sieve.
4. Add the sugar, a pinch of salt, and the butter to the pot, and bring mixture to a simmer.
5. Cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture becomes thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. If it's thick enough, you should be able to drag a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pot and see the bottom for several seconds before the mixture closes in on itself.
6. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour pudding into a serving dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
7. Chill thoroughly, and serve cold.

 




Sweet corn ice cream

1 can (200g) corn kernels, drained and rinsed (this is a scant 1 Cup Measurement of Corn Kernels, cooked on the cob first and then cut off - I have also seen this recipe done with corn "uncooked" seems like you'd get more "corn cream" if it was cooked a bit.
1 ¼ cups (300ml) whole milk
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

Place the kernels and milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Push mixture through a sieve and put it corn "cream" back in the blender. Add the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, cinnamon and salt and blend.
Pour into a metal/glass bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours, before serving.

... gotta run, looking at all this food is making me hungry!