FORAGING IN MY KITCHEN

Foraging in my Kitchen

          Keeping New Year’s resolutions can be a challenge! In my last column, the month of January was to be “Boxing Day Re-Imagined”, as a means of using accumulated items in the kitchen, pantry and freezer. Half-way through the month, foraging in my kitchen for meals as a means for fulfilling Ben Franklin’s dictum “Waste not – want not”, has become quite interesting.

          It is embarrassing to admit to a supper of hotdogs on a roll with a dab of habanero salsa and sauerkraut (it was actually tasty), even if the Maine blueberry pie from berries in the freezer made up for it very nicely. Faced with a collection of vegetables and a half a pound of frozen hamburger I fortunately recalled the German version of a meatball soup my mother made years ago and we still serve at our table.

          Meatball soup does not have a very gastronomic ring, yet it’s appeal must be widespread as it is found in different cuisines with somewhat different ingredients and usually a more appealing name. Mexican ‘albondingas soup’ has meatballs with beef or turkey and rice.  Italians call it ‘the wedding soup’ with beef meatballs, escarole and egg/ cheese ribbons in the soup. Germans have a hearty version with lots of vegetables and beef meatballs, which they call by different names: Klops soupe or Eintopt or my favorite ‘Frikadellen Suppe. Actually the word Frikadellen means meat patties and was the origin of our today’s hamburger.

                                      Frikadellen Suppe

          It is possible to cook the meatballs directly in the soup, but baking the meatballs briefly first, browns the meat slightly and improves the flavor of the soup.

Meatballs. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with baking spray. In a small bowl soak ¼ cup fine bread crumbs with 3 tablespoons milk and 1 beaten egg, 1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. onion powder. Mix thoroughly with ½ lb. of lean ground beef and roll the mix with your hands in 1 inch balls. Place on the baking sheet well separated and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Soup.  Sauté 1 chopped onion and 2 chopped celery stalks with leaves in 1 tblsp. olive oil in a 4 quart pot for 5 minutes, stir in 3 chopped garlic cloves and sauté for an additional minute. Add: 4 cups beef broth, 3 cups water, 1 cup tomato juice, a bay leaf, 1 tsp. thyme, 7 cloves, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. salt, the rind of Parmegiano-Regano (optional)  and bring to boil. Add diced 3 small parsnips, 1 large potato, 2 large carrots, 2 cups coarsely shredded cabbage and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add 1 cup frozen peas, 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, 2 tblsp. balsamic vinegar and the meatballs, heat for 5 minutes, if needed add a bit more water, adjust seasonings and serve. Soup flavor improves with reheating.

          Local farmer’s market apples were wonderful last year, but several months cool storage takes toll on the crispness of even the best. They still make wonderful baked apples, which can be served any time of the day.

                             Raisin-Pecan Stuffed Baked Apples.

          Wash and carefully core 4-5 large apples from the blossom end and place in an 8x8x2 inch baking dish. Place the cored apples in the baking dish and fill them with chopped pecans and raisins, ½ tsp. sugar and pour over each 2 tsp. apple juice or cider. Pour ½ cup cider or juice in the bottom of the pan and bake in a 375 degree oven for 50 minutes. The apples should be soft and just starting to break out of the skin on the top. Serve plain warm or cold, with or without ice cream.

          Taking inventory and having a sale is a common practice for business at this time of the year. A cook’s kitchen is the cook’s business, so edible inventory may be both a benefit and a challenge.

                            

(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: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

BOXING DAY RE-IMAGINED

Boxing Day – Re-imagined

          Regardless of how “cool” or cynical you have become in all the years past, the New Year simply insinuates in you a desire for new beginnings.  It whispers the possibility of “getting it right” this time by tempting us with “resolutions” for the New Year, even if their lifetime in the past has been embarrassingly limited.

          The overindulgence of Christmas celebrations since Middle Ages have always included in the United Kingdom the day after Christmas as a day for giving time-off and cash or material goods to servants as special compensation for the year and the excess of effort to create such extravagant feasts. Pepy’s Diary in 1663 refers to “boys’ box against Christmas” also as general charitable contribution. Around 1830’s this became known as Boxing Day, regarding all such contributions and is now is a National Holiday in Britain and Ireland.

          A necessary by-product of the servant’s day-off was boxing of leftover food from Christmas to be consumed by everyone the day after, since the cook did not cook and there was no one around to serve. For most of us the days of having a cook and servants are gone, but the concept has definite merit and I’m proposing to redefine and extend it beyond Boxing Day.

          Fortunately, the freezer will keep extra portions of lasagna and chili from visiting family meals, for ready use in the New Year. Our Swedish glogg and roast beef did not last past January 1. However, with all the holiday planning and shopping our pantry, refrigerator and freezer have accumulated an assortment of packages, cans and bottles that will require at least a month of inventive cooking to clear the shelves. Thus evolved my NEW Boxing Day/Month concept. Except for perishable fruit, vegetable and dairy products from the store, old Ben Franklin’s dictum “Waste not, want not” will rule in the kitchen.

                             Tangy Butternut Squash Bisque

          Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and bake face down in a pan at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork. When cool, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. There should be 2 ½ to 3 cups of squash. Sauté 1 chopped medium onion and a stalk of celery in 2 tblsp. butter in a 3-4 quart pot for 5 minutes, stir in 2/3 cup dry white wine, ¼ tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. chopped fresh ginger, ¼ tsp. nutmeg, ½ tsp. red pepper flakes, ¼ tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. turmeric, 1 tsp. salt, pepper to taste, 3 cups chicken broth, the broken up squash flesh and 2 medium tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced. Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes, add ½ cup chopped parsley and cook for an additional 5 minutes. When cool, puree in a blender and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If soup seems too thick, dilute with a bit of water. Reheat to serve garnished with sour cream or crême fraiche and chopped chives.

                             Cranberry Bread

          It seems like there is always a partial bag of cranberries left in the refrigerator at this time of the year and cranberry bread is a perfect solution for their use. Grease an 8x4x2 ½ in. loaf pan. Sift 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour with 2 ½  tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. baking soda, ¾ tsp. salt. With a mixer cream 1/3 cup butter with ¾ cups sugar until fluffy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, and 1 tblsp. cream. Add flour mixture in 4 portions, beating well after each addition. Stir in 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries and ½ cup chopped pecans. Turn batter in prepared pan and bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Turn out from cake pan on a cake rack and cool before slicing. Unsliced loaf freezes well and will keep for several months frozen.

          Boxing Day has changed significantly in modern times. Sports dominate in many places, though the traditional fox hunt has been held without “The Fox” since 2004. Questionably, in absence of servants and giving, it has also become one of the biggest shopping days of the year!

(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: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

HOLIDAY PLEASURES

Holiday Pleasures

          December has always been to me a magical month because of the holidays. It has become more difficult each year to keep the visual and auditory blinders until December 1^st, in order to avoid the ever expanding commercial ‘holiday overload’.  But the effort allows one to really appreciate the season. The music, a child’s wide-eyed anticipation and the lights to cheer the encroaching early dark, all evoke our feelings and memories of seasons past.

          This brings us to food. We remember the fragrance of those special treats we enjoyed as children. We gravitate to cookbooks and the kitchen to prepare gifts for the family and friends and plan a celebratory dinner or gathering, whether it is for a crowd or just two special people. Here is a selection of a few of my favorites through the years, to tease the palate.

          An elegant appetizer is never amiss before any gathering, whether at your house or as something to bring to a party. This stuffed mushroom recipe has seen a lot of use throughout the years and is especially welcome, since it can be prepared ahead of time and just popped in the oven, before serving.

                             Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

          Wipe clean and trim 8 oz fresh large Crimini or white mushrooms. Remove stems, chop and set aside. Place mushroom caps stem-side up on a large baking sheet, put a small dab of butter in each stemmed depression, broil for 3-4 minutes and set aside to cool. In a small skillet melt 1 tblsp. olive oil and sauté 1 tblsp, finely chopped onion with the chopped mushroom stems for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in ¼ cup finely chopped salami, ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tblsp. sour cream and 1 tblsp. catsup. Mix thoroughly, stuff in mushroom crowns, sprinkle with fine bread crumbs, place in an ovenproof dish and refrigerate until baking. When ready to serve, bake at 425 degrees for 6-8 minutes until hot.

          This next recipe for Swedish Glőgg originally came from the “New York Times Cookbook” by Craig Clairborne. With small modifications it has traveled with me from Pennsylvania, to Reno Nevada, Arizona and finally Maine. Each year I take out my green enameled pot to concoct this delightful brew.  It is the ultimate potently fragrant Christmas drink for an evening with snow and bitter cold outdoors, but it worked well even in Arizona with open windows on a ‘not-so-cold’ night. 

                             Swedish Glőgg

          3 days before use: pour ¾ cups water in a 4 quart enameled or stainless steel pot with a lid. Assemble: 4 cardamom seeds, 1 star anise, 8 whole cloves, 2 tblsp. grated orange rind, tie in a piece of cheesecloth and simmer covered in boiling water for 10 minutes. Add 1/3 cup blanched almonds, ½ cup seedless raisins, ½ cup dried apricots, ¾ cups prunes. Add enough water to barely cover the fruit, bring to boil and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add 1 bottle red Bordeaux wine, 1 bottle ruby Port, 1 ¾ cups brandy and 3 tblsp. sugar. Bring to boil, remove immediately from heat and cover. Store in a cool place (not refrigerator) until needed, then remove the spice bag, heat to below simmer and serve in mugs. Be careful inhaling the first whiff of this potent beverage.

          Holiday invitations to gatherings with family and friends are wonderful, except there is always the morning after for the host and/or hostess. A “ready-made-breakfast” makes a much-appreciated host/hostess gift. Scones make a wonderful and easy gift for this purpose. Apricot-ginger-pecan scones are my favorites, but for a true “ready-made-breakfast” these hearty-oatmeal-breakfast scones can’t be beat.

                             Oatmeal-Bacon-Cheese Scones

          Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crisp 3 thick slices of bacon and set aside to drain on paper towels. Sift together in a food processor: 1 2/3 cups flour, 1 tblsp. baking powder, ¾ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt, 1 1/3 cup old fashioned oats and pulse 15 times. Add ¾ cup cold unsalted butter cut in tblsp. size pieces and pulse until mix has pea sized lumps and all the butter is distributed. Remove mixture to a large bowl and toss with the crumbled bacon and ½ cup grated sharp Cheddar of Asiago cheese. Pour 2/3 cup shaken buttermilk in a depression of the mix, stirring with a fork to barely form the dough. Turn out on a floured surface and knead 6 times. Divide the dough in half and flatten with your hand on a parchment lined large pan as two 6 inch discs. Cut each round in 6 pieces, slightly separating the wedges. Brush with extra buttermilk and bake at 425 degrees for 17 minutes. Serve with additional butter. Can be kept in an airtight container until next morning and reheated in a microwave for about 30 seconds.

          The pleasures of our Holiday Season are many, but best are the joy, the peace and connections with people we love.

(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: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)