WELCOME TO OKTOBERFEST

 

                                    Welcome to Oktoberfest

 

          Harvest festivals have been popular in all cultures, but Germans show a special exuberance in their annual Octoberfest. The famous 2-week festival brings more than 3.5 million people to Munich each fall for celebrations with German food, large steins of beer and various forms of entertainment for all ages. Oktoberfest originated as a glorious wedding celebration in 1810 of Bavarian royalty and has grown through the years into a harvest festival not only in Munich but even in Gardiner ME as the “Swine and Stein Brewfest”.

          As the title of the Gardiner event states plainly – pork, sausages and beer are the main food attractions; though dumplings, pretzels and varieties of cabbage and apple dishes are also popular. After languorous summer meals filled with salads, the crisp days of October entice us to a more substantial fare, and one might celebrate with such dishes for the entire month of October.

                                               Pork chops in mustard sauce 

          Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Core and cut 2 small crisp apples; one in half and the other in thin wedges. Cover with a whet paper towel to prevent discoloration.

          Salt and pepper 2 bone-in-rib pork chops 1 inch thick. Heat 1 tbsp. bacon fat in an oven proof pan to smoking, cook the chops on one side for 3 minutes and set aside. To the remaining fat in the pan add the halved apple cut side down and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the apple slices and 1 small, sliced onion and continue to cook for another 3-5 minutes until the vegetables soften. Stir in 2 tsp. flour to mix, then stir in ¾ cups water, 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 ½ tbsp. Dijon mustard and ½ tsp. dried sage. Cook all to thicken. Return the pork chops to the pan wedging them in between the apples. Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes for 1-inch chops, reduce time for thinner porkchops. Serve with new potatoes and red cabbage cooked with wine (Weinkraut).

                                                       Red Weinkraut

          Fry 2 thick slices of bacon in a 10-inch skillet with deep sides, crumble and set aside. Reheat the bacon fat to hot but not smoking and stir in about 6 cups thinly sliced red cabbage and 1 medium red onion, sliced thin. Cook with occasional stirring 6-8 minutes. Stir in 2 small unpeeled cored apples, thinly sliced, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. lemon pepper, 2 tsp sugar, ½ cup red wine and 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar. Cook stirring occasionally until all the liquid is absorbed. Serve warm with crumbled bacon on top. 

                                         Apple crunch with cranberries

          Spray an 8x8x2 inch baking dish with buttery baking spray and preheat oven to 375 degrees.  For the topping: in a small bowl mix 1/3 cup flour with ¾ cups light brown sugar, ½ tsp. cinnamon and ¼ tsp. nutmeg. With a pastry cutter or 2 knives cut in 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter to make a crumbly mixture. Stir in ¼ cup Grapenuts cereal.

          Pare 4-6 medium apples, quarter, core and slice thinly in the baking dish, scattering ¼ cup dried cranberries among the apples. Dot with 1 tbsp. butter. (If cranberries are very dry, soak in hot water for 5 minutes and drain.) Sprinkle crumble over the top evenly and bake for 30 minutes until the top is browned and the apples are soft.

          In Munich the Oktoberfest feeling is kept throughout the year for the benefit of tourists and locals in several Biergartens near Theresienwiese, the center of the fall celebrations. I fondly remember being there one summer with a beer stein in hand, filled with light lager, chanting with others in the Bavarian dialect: “Oans, zwoa, drei, g’suffa!” (one, two, three…drink), as we raised steins in unison on “g’suffa”.

    (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day:” and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

 

TASTY MEATLESS LUNCHES

                                        Tasty meatless lunches

           Cooking for friends and family sometimes can be a challenge in face of individual dietary requirements and choices between keto, vegan, vegetarian and gluten free food. This becomes even more important as we consider the need for balance in a healthy diet and try to provide a delicious meal with eye appeal.

          A very simple and quick meatless lunch could be zucchini or eggplant sliced in ¼ inch slices, dipped serially in flour, beaten egg and some panko mixed with Za’atar flavoring. Then fried crisp to brown in olive oil with a slice of Provolone cheese on top and garnished with half a grape tomato. 

           Recently I was challenged to come up with several satisfying vegetarian luncheon dishes which needed to be a bit more elaborate. Happily, eggs, cheese and milk products could be used in preparation, allowing the dishes to maintain some balance between protein and carbohydrate with different vegetable products. 

                                              Zucchini-olive quiche

          Have on hand a single premade crust from your grocery Deli case for a 9-inch pie.

In a large skillet heat 2 tbsp. olive oil and sauté 1 thinly sliced onion with 1 ½ lb. zucchini sliced in ¼ inch slices for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives sliced in half, 1/3 cup julienned sundried tomatoes, ½ tsp. oregano, ½ tsp. thyme, ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. lemon pepper.

          Line a 9-inch pie plate with the crust and scatter 4 oz. coarsely shredded Gruyère cheese on the bottom. Spread out the filling over the cheese evenly. Beat 3 eggs in a bowl with 1 tsp. Dijon mustard and 1 cup of half-and-half and pour evenly over the filling. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until a knife inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature with a green salad.

          Legumes are a staple in a vegetarian diet because of their high protein content. Thus beans, chickpeas and lentils are often featured in tasty arrangements with other vegetables or grains. The following salad uses quinoa as the grain component, which makes this dish also gluten free.

                                  Black bean-quinoa and radicchio salad

          This salad can be made with drained and rinsed canned black beans, but the extra effort of cooking dried black beans will give the dish a better texture and additional depth of flavor.

          Soak 1 ¼ cups dried black beans in excess of cold water overnight. Place the drained beans in a medium pot, add water to cover by 2 inches and bring to boil. Add 1 tblsp. dried onion flakes, 4 cloves, 1 bay leaf, ½ tsp. oregano and thyme each and ½ tsp. salt. Cook on medium low heat for 45 minutes, remove the bay leaf and drain.

          Thoroughly rinse ¾ cups white quinoa, place in a pot with1 ½ cups vegetable broth and bring to boil. Turn down heat to simmer, cover pot with a lid and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to sit covered for 10 minutes and then fluff with a fork.

          While beans and quinoa are cooking prepare the dressing. Blend together 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. light soy sauce, 1 tsp. grainy Dijon mustard, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. lemon pepper, 1 tsp. dried thyme and 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.

          In a large bowl toss together the drained beans, quinoa, 2 cups cut up radicchio, ½ seeded diced red pepper, 2-3 scallions sliced with greens, ¼ cup chopped dill and the dressing. Toss in 4 oz crumbled Feta cheese and garnish the serving bowl with halved colorful grape tomatoes and pitted Kalamata olives. Place individual servings on some lettuce greens.

          Michael Pollan’s book “Omnivores Dilemma” starts with the question “What should we have for dinner”, but it could equally apply to any meal including lunch. The joy of being an omnivore is that we are not limited to just one type of diet but have the pleasure of discovering the delights of variety of fare.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

    (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day:” and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)