in season cooking

An Old Recipe Revisited – Apple Glazed Crockpot Pork Roast

15 Oct 2012

3 Comments

Since last year, our eating habits have changed. This has made me revisit some of our favorite recipes. This comfort food crockpot dish wasn’t changed too much, but I was able to add a few alterations that make it even better than before!

Apple Glazed Pork Roast

Ingredients:
4lbs pork loin roast
6-8 large apples
1/4 cup Angry Orchard Hard Cider (crisp apple)
3 tbl brown sugar
1-2 tsp fresh ground ginger (depending on taste)

Trim excess fat from loin, set aside. Core and quarter apples. Place apple quarters in bottom of crockpot. Place roast on top of apples. Combine cider, brown sugar, and ginger. Spoon over top surface of loin, moistening well. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees (medium well) in the middle.

Serve with apples on top.

Happy Cooking!

By: Category: Food Tags: , , , ,

Meatless Monday – Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

17 Sep 2012

2 Comments

The most challenging part in changing our eating habits has been the increase in our grocery bill. I have found that buying organic veggies, grass fed beef, and cage-free chicken adds about 30% to my weekly list. I’ve slowly been adjusting by substituting, buying in-season, being organized and creative. One simple change that has helped me get the most out our menu at the beginning of the week is to follow the blog world in Meatless Mondays.

We were able to easily make this transition in the summer by grilling everything. I have found now that the air has turned cooler, the menu is changing and the new challenge has been meatless comfort food. This week, Acorn Squash was on special at the market and I stumbled upon this great soup that not only includes the squash, but also takes advantage of many in-season ingredients.

This recipe is Roasted Acorn Squash Soup from A Sweet Pea Chef. It’s a simple recipe with a blend of ingredients that pack a big flavor punch. The blend of the sweet squash with the tartness of granny smith apples is accompanied by a kick of ginger making this soup a tasty in-season addition to any budget conscious menu.

What do you do to keep your menu in check?

By: Category: Food Tags: , , ,

Barley Soup

6 Aug 2012

6 Comments

This was, by far, the best soup I have ever made. I think partly because I started with my own homemade broth.

Sidetracked: I just did a search on my blog to link to the recipe for my broth and realized that after 5 years of blogging, I have never told you how I make it. Well, that ends now! After making Rosemary Crockpot Chicken (I now add lemon and use fresh garlic), I put all the bones and unused meat (including skin) back in the crock. The more meat left, the better tasting your broth will be. I add enough water to almost fill the crock, a few more sprigs of rosemary, a bay leaf, any left over lemon juice, 3 gloves of crushed garlic, salt (about 2 tsps) and pepper (about 1/2 tsp) to the bones, skin and meat. Then I let it simmer on high until I go to bed, then I turn it down to low and let it cook overnight (some people don’t like doing this, but I’ve done it for years). By morning, remove the crock from the crockpot and let it cool a bit. Then separate the bones from the broth. Freeze or use fresh…it’s perfect, and the perfect starter to this awesome Barley Soup!

Barley Soup

8 Cups of Broth (I usually get about 7 from my crockpot and added one cup of regular water)
1 cup pearled barley
1 cup carrots (chopped)
1 cup celery (chopped)
1 cup onion (chopped)
1 cup parsnips (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh dill (chopped)
1/4 cup fresh chives (chopped)

1. Bring stock to a boil, add barley, carrots, onion and parsnips.
2. Turn heat down to simmer and cover partially.
3. Simmer until barley is soft, add salt and pepper to taste.
4.  Stir in dill and chives.
5. Enjoy!

Please let me know if you try this recipe. Do you have another way you prepare broth?

Cook More.

By: Category: Food Tags: , , , , ,

::Reality Check:: Recipes Aren’t Always What They Seem

22 Jul 2012

4 Comments

Our fantastic neighbors have been setting us up with a nonstop supply of fresh garden veggies. I simply love the anticipation of coming home to find another back sitting on the front stoop and wondering what is inside. Last week, they started to harvest these Patty Pans.

At first, I wasn’t sure what to do with them. They are a squash, but I wasn’t sure if they were more of an acorn squash or a summer squash. I quickly went to work scouring the internet for interesting recipes for Patty Pans. I found what seemed to be a very simple recipe. It suggested cutting off the tops of the Patty Pans, scooping out the seeds, stuffing them with a pre-sauteed mixture of onions, garlic and fresh thyme and topping it off with an egg. I thought it sounded fantastic. A perfectly balanced meal all in one squash.

Then reality set in. The squash took way longer than the recipe called for in the oven to soften up. I added the filling and topped with an egg, which took even longer. Once they were finally ready, we dove in. The tastes didn’t blend together well at all and it turned out that the Patty Pan is actually more like a Summer Squash than an Acorn Squash. It was a terrible disappointment. Luckily, that wonderful neighbor I speak so highly about, brought over two more. I plan on grilling them with some salt, pepper and butter tonight. Simple, easy and a great way to enjoy these beautiful squashes.

Happy Cooking!

By: Category: Food, Gardening Tags: , , , ,

Farm Fresh Quiche

26 Jul 2011

3 Comments

This is a fantastic summertime brunch/lunch treat. Okay, lets be honest, it’s not bad for breakfast or dinner either! I am one lucky girl. When my family comes to visit, they bring gifts like, a dozen farm fresh eggs, and kale (told you I was lucky)! We used the farm fresh eggs in this dish, with some of the perfect zucchini and beautiful green onions we picked up at the farmers market. Then I added fresh herbs from my garden.

Fresh Farm Quiche

Ingredients:
1 unbaked pie crust (I cheat with Pillsbury)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbs all-purpose flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups 2% milk
2 tbs chopped green onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme and rosemary
1/2 cup diced Canadian bacon

Directions

  • Line pie crust with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Let cool.
  • Toss cheese with flour; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, green onions, fresh herbs, salt and pepper. Stir in the ham, zucchini and cheese. Pour into prepared crust.
  • Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted near the center comes out clean. When cooked let stand for 10 minutes.
    Yields 6-8 servings.
By: Category: Food, The Pomegranate Chronicles Tags: , , ,

In Season Soup

13 Jan 2010

0 Comment

Last weekend we attended the Winter Farmers Market. I saw lots of winter veggies, but had no clue how to cook them. In my quest to start cooking more “in season” foods, my Mom came over today to show me how to cook winter veggies.

We made Roasted Vegetable Cheddar Soup. Here you can see her cutting and peeling the rutabaga. It also contains turnips, onion, garlic, cauliflower. I used my homemade chicken broth I made last week, and cheddar cheese.

We peeled and cubed the veggies and roasted them in the oven. Then pureed all the other ingredients in the food processor.

It is very important to have an official “taste tester”, Griffin volunteered for that position.

Transfer everything to a pot and heat until hot (but not boiling).

I made this and some homemade Portuguese Sweet Bread. It was SO yummy! Here’s Mom’s recipe, easy to copy and paste.

ROASTED VEGETABLE CHEDDAR SOUP

1 rutabaga, peeled and quartered

2 small turnips, peeled and quartered

1 onion, quartered

4 cloves garlic

1 head cauliflower, broken up

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon thyme (we used fresh)

2 cups of chicken broth

1 cup whole milk

1/2 tablespoon floor

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat overn to 425 degrees. In a roasting pan, add all the veggies and toss well with olive oil, salt and pepper and thyme. Cook for 30 mins or until veggies start to turn brown. Remove from the oven, set aside and let cool.

In a blender, add cooled roasted veggies and 2 tablespoons of the chicken broth (or more, you just want to help blend the veggies) Pulse the blender- you don’t want your veggies liquefied, just blended.

In a saucepan, dump the contents of the blender, the rest of the chicken broth and heat to boiling. Lower the heat to a simmer and add the cream. When it is hot (not boiling) add the cheese tossed with flour. Again, bring to almost boiling, turn down the heat and serve.

Thanks Mom- it was a great day!

By: Category: Food, The Pomegranate Chronicles Tags: , ,