EASING INTO FALL COOKING

 

                                 Easing into fall cooking

 

          The rain finally arrived for our gardens, but weather turning cold is convincing enough to accept that fall has arrived and with-it need for more substantial and filling meals. Fresh fruit and produce still abounds in farm markets and stores, giving the cook many choices for the table. However, even if you like to cook, efficient planning is awarded by meals that can be reassembled with minor additions the following day.

          Meatballs is one of those dishes that can be served in a variety of different ways and can act as a pre-cooked part of a meal with minor additions. My freezer usually contains a bag of ground beef pre-cooked meatballs. Recently I found that ground-pork meatballs made in the oriental style have equal potential for variety with not only udon and soba noodles, but other pasta and rice.

                                       Pork and shitake meatballs

          Pour boiling water over 10 dried shitake mushrooms in a bowl making sure they stay submerged and soak for 30 minutes to an hour. Remove the shitake, discard the stems and chop the rest. Strain the liquid through a paper towel lined sieve and save.

          Sauté 1 chopped medium onion in a small pan with 2 garlic cloves for 3 minutes in 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil each, stir in 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil and 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger for another 3 minutes. Add 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. rice vinegar and the chopped mushrooms, and continue to cook stirring until all the liquid is absorbed. Allow to cook slightly before adding 2/3 to the meat mixture.

          In a large bowl combine the meatball mix: 1 beaten egg, ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. lemon pepper, ¼ cup mushroom liquid (save rest for sauce), ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. rice vinegar, ¾ cups plan panko, 1lb. ground pork and 2/3 of the mushroom mixture. Mix thoroughly by hand and form in 24 balls by rolling in your hands. Spread out on a large sheet pan and bake in a 375-degree pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.

          While the meatballs are baking, heat the remaining mushrooms blending in 1 tbsp. flour and the rest of the mushroom liquid plus water to make ½ cup liquid. Adjust seasoning and consistency of the sauce. Serve some of the meatballs for two on cooked udon noodles with the sauce and sprinkled with chopped peanuts. Freeze the rest for another meal.

          Although cabbage has been one of the pre-eminent fall and winter vegetables in northern climes forever, its strong taste and cooking odor has relegated it to the lower levels of vegetable darlings. Savoy and Napa cabbages are often overlooked as well although their flavor is mild with slightly softer texture and have the advantage of cooking quickly and pair well with pork dishes.

    

                                 Buttery Savoy cabbage with carraway

          Because Savoy cabbage grows with loose leaf structure you need to peel off the outer leaves and wash off any collected dirt. The stem and bottom tougher ribs need to be removed cutting in a triangle as well for cooking.

          Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a 2-3 qt. pot and stir in 6 cups coarsely chopped Savoy cabbage, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper and 1 tsp. carraway seed. Cook, with stirring on high heat for 4-5 minutes, add a scant ½ cup water and 1 tblsp. lemon juice. Cover and cook on medium heat for 6-7 minutes until liquid is mostly absorbed. Serve warm and can be reheated.

          What do you do with a bag of blue plums that refuse to ripen after more than a week? You reward their recalcitrance and your own patience by making them in a Plum crumble.

                                                  Blue plum crumble 

          Remove pits from 12-13 blue plums and cut in four parts. Toss with 2 tbsp. lime juice and 1/3 cup sugar mixed 1 tbsp. corn starch and ½ tsp. cinnamon and spread out in a tart pan sprayed with baking spray. Prepare the crumble by mixing ¾ cups flour with ¾ cups rough oatmeal (not quick cooking), ½ cup packed brown sugar ¼ tsp. salt. Cut in or mix with in with fingers 6 tbsp. cold butter and spread out over the plums. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm with satisfaction of having outwitted the plums by this delicious desert. 

(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)

 

HARVEST TIME REWARDS

 

                            Harvest time rewards

 

          Harvest celebration every autumn has been a special time for me to gather not only the bounty of the year’s crop but also to gather the group of my women friends of many years.  We come together for good food to share our current joys or sorrows in the fabric of our shared pasts and part with a sense of continued connection.

           My friend Ingrid arrived with her annual harvest box brimming with vegetables from her husband’s ‘truck garden’ full of tomatoes, peppers, carrots, squash, cabbage, herbs, leeks and an incredible braid of other representatives of the Allium, genus of the onion family, that included large red and yellow onions and a giant shallot. The large onions called for a batch of caramelized onions to go with a variety of meats. My other cooking activities were destined to focus on the perfect medium to showcase vegetables, the Italian gift to harvest tables, Minestrone.

                                                  Harvest Minestrone

          Sauté 1 large, chopped onion in 2 tbsp. olive oil in a 4 qt. pot for 4 minutes, stir in 3-4 chopped garlic cloves for another minute. Add: 2 chopped celery stalks, 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, ½ tsp. red pepper flakes, 2 diced large carrots, 1 diced medium potato, 1 (15.5 oz.) undrained can of diced roasted tomatoes, 4 cups low salt chicken broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian soup) and a 2–3-inch piece of Parmigiano Ragano cheese rind. Bring to boil and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

          Add to the pot ¾ cups green beans cut in 1-inch pieces, ½ cup broken thin spaghetti noodles, 1 can drained chickpeas and cook for 10 minutes. Then add ¾ cups zucchini cut in ½ inch pieces and corn cut from 1-2 ears of corn and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to tase and serve hot with crusty bread, grated Parmesan and pesto, if handy. Soup reheats well and can be frozen.

          Our Harvest Luncheon featured Moussaka, that wonderful Greek dish of baked eggplant and lamb subtly flavored with wine, cheese and spices. The following colorful white bean and roast pepper salad transitioned us into autumn fare.

                                  White bean and roasted pepper salad

          Dried beans make superior textured bean salads, but you can use 2 drained and rinsed (15.5 oz) cans for this recipe with a softer textured result.

Soak 1 ½ cups of small white beans in excess of cold water overnight. Drain and cook covered with 2 inches of water, 1 bay leaf, 5 cloves, 1 tbsp. onion flakes, ½ tsp. garlic powder and ½ tsp. kosher salt for 1 hour. Beans should be firm tender, if not ready, cook for another 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and pick out the cloves from drained beans. Add the hot cooked beans to the prepared dressing and toss.

While the beans are cooking prepare the dressing in a bowl by combining 1 tsp. Dijon mustard with 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. kosher salt and ½ tsp. black pepper. Beat in ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil. Fold in ½ cup thinly sliced red onion in the dressing and allow to marinate for 20 minutes before the beans are done.

          Toss the beans and dressing with ½ cup chopped Italian parsley. Drain 10 oz. jar of fire roasted red pepper strips, fold them thoroughly into the beans and mound the mixture in a shallow bowl. Tear 4-5 oz. fresh mozzarella pieces and scatter them around and on top of the beans. Allow to chill for a couple of hours in the refrigerator and serve garnished with fresh basil leaves.

          Harvest time is time for sharing and reflections on the journey that has led us there.     

(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)