Wednesday, December 18, 2013

SNOWBOUND FANCIES










Snowbound Fancies

            Mother Nature certainly gave us a seasonal backhanded compliment last Sunday. We woke to a view of purposeful gusts of fine snow traveling through the tall birches, forming sculpted drifts on our deck and a huge snowdrift hovering on the edge of our roof, ready to dump an additional snowdrift on the patio below. Our two cats had their noses glued to the living room window, watching the drifts, fully convinced that the sky was indeed falling.
            Saturday’s forecasts had given us full warning of what was to come. The birdfeeders were filled and my husband was persuaded that if we wanted a Christmas tree, it needed to be cut and at least brought indoors before the snows arrived. Now, the morning bird activity outside was truly amazing. A flock of doves sat under the hanging birdfeeder, ruffled against the cold and squabbled for every seed that the small birds let fly from above. The nuthatches and dark-headed junkos seemed more focused than usual, while nothing seemed to slow the frantic flitting of the chicadees. A virtual pageant for the cats!
            New drifts formed on our driveway as soon as we were plowed out in the morning and I suddenly realized that Mother Nature had actually given us the gift of a snowbound day in the midst of our usual frantic Holiday season. We had a leisurely breakfast of blueberry pancakes, since there actually was no rush like the previous week with packages to mail, inevitable cooking for potlucks and events requiring attendance. There would be time to enjoy trimming the tree during the day and it would be possible to plan an unhurried meal at home.
            Dinner would be easy, since we had been on our December visit to Morse’s the previous week. This time of the year one might as well park any ‘locovore’ aspirations outside, when going there, since the place abounds in tempting delicacies from Germany, France, Turkey, Italy and too many other places to mention. However we still managed to come away also with a good supply of their excellent local sauerkraut and some farmer’s sausage. That and some scalloped potatoes would be the basis for a simple, but warming meal on this blustery day.
            But then I recalled a conversation with Karin Pratt from Friendship some weeks ago about the fact that in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it was ‘de rigeur’ to cook sauerkraut in beer. In fact, it was the only way!  This was intriguing. I knew of Weinkraut, the German way to cook sauerkraut with wine, but not beer.  Of course it made perfect sense, since Milwaukee is known for its beer and the Wisconsin wine industry is at best still emerging. The following experiment was definitely tasty with a subtly transformed flavor.
                                    Sauerkraut in beer
            Drain about 5 lb. of sauerkraut and rinse for a few seconds to remove excess salt. Brown ½ cup of the drained sauerkraut in 1 Tblsp. vegetable oil or bacon drippings for about 5 minutes. Stir in the rest of the sauerkraut, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. caraway seed and 1 bottle of lager beer. Bring to boil, cover tightly and cook on low for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a small amount of water, if the beer evaporates at the end.
            But the meal required a desert, preferably with fruit and not too much effort. Fortunately apples from the refrigerator adapted to an apricot upside down cake without too much fuss.
                        Upside-down apple cranberry cake
            Melt 1/3 cup butter and ½ cup light brown sugar on low heat in a metal 9 inch cake pan. Stir in 3 Tblsp. white corn syrup. Peel and core 2-3 apples and slice in water with 2 Tblsp. lemon juice. The slices should be no more than 1/3 inch thick. Drain the slices and arrange in concentric circles in the buttery sugar mix. Insert some cranberries among the slices and some walnuts or pecans around the outside circle (nuts are optional). Prepare the batter by beating 1/3 cup soft butter with ½ cup sugar, then 2 eggs and ½ tsp. vanilla. In a small bowl combine 1 ½ cups flour with 2 tsp. baking powder and ½ tsp. salt. Stir into egg mixture alternatively with ½ cup milk. Spread batter over apples and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then invert over a plate. Serve with or without whipped cream.
            All in all, one can always thank Mother Nature for her backhanded compliments in providing an occasional day for rejuvenation.
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

TURKEY DRESSING RE-IMAGINED



After Thanksgiving turkey dressing leftovers require a bit of re-imagining for an appetizing presentation.  Breakfast bakes present an excellent opportunity, since the basis of many of those is bread.  What could be better than using the flavored ready mix of dressing : cornbread/bread/linguine/pecans/mushrooms/celery/carrot as a basis for a breakfast bake.
However, the above version only requires you to reheat the dressing, top with a couple of eggs in a small chafing dish, add some slices of crisp bacon and a garnish of cherry tomatoes and parsley.  Voilà! An elegant breakfast without fuss!