Ode To Fat

I could wax poetical about butter, but I've decided to talk briefly about oil - more specifically about deep-fat frying. See, the health world sees frying as bad, and I'm sure it is. I don't think it's wise to eat a ton of fried foods; in fact too much makes my stomach hurt. But I think there should be special occasions where eating fried food is not only accepted, but it is celebrated! Here is a list of fried foods that I absolutely love.

Around the campfire: fried refrigerator biscuits served hot with apple butter

At home with a good pot of chili: fried hush puppies

For dinner or at a good English pub: fish and chips

As a snack: Homemade fried corn tortilla chips with fresh, homemade refried beans

Aaaaah, they make my mouth water! Since I have some freshly made apple butter I am going to have to make those fried biscuits. It's been absolutely years since I've had them. That's enough justification, right? Now all I need is a special occasion. Let's see... Halloween is the next holiday. Let's celebrate!

Delicious Granola

Granola has been one of those other intimidating things that I screwed up once (a whole batch burnt - that's a lot of granola wasted) and have been scared to try since. This was really silly because granola is really easy - if you have a good recipe.

Well, a few weeks ago, in talking to a sweet, older lady whose grandkids gobbled up her granola I dared to ask for her recipe and tried it out. It was fabulous! I then created a variation of my own using the same basic principles. You should really try this out. It makes a lot which you can store in a plastic container or in glass mason quart jars and you have an amazing breakfast that is cheap and fast to make. Here is the recipe:

Sarah's Granola

7 c. rolled oats (not instant)

1 c. chopped or sliced almonds

3/4 c. pecans, chopped

1 c. shredded coconut

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. canola or vegetable oil

1/2 c. honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. dried cranberries (or raisins)

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Spray two jelly roll pans/cookie sheets (the kind with a 1/2" lip all around) with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together by hand the rolled oats, almonds, pecans, coconut, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Next add the oil, honey, and vanilla. Continue to mix by hand, digging to the bottom and bringing it up to the top to help all ingredients to circulate well. Break up any over-large clumps. Mix until well combined. (Do not add the cranberries or raisins at this point. If they bake with the granola they will end up as hard as rocks.)

Spread the mixture evenly onto the two cookie sheets. Bake 20 minutes. Stir and rotate pans. Bake for another 20 minutes or until mixture is golden brown. Remove from the oven and stir the granola around, otherwise it will stick horribly.

After the granola has cooled for five minutes, dump the granola back into the large bowl and mix in the dried cranberries or raisins. Enjoy plain or with milk! Once completely cool, store granola in a cool, dry place.

***Note: Feel free to add or remove the add-ins and spices with your own favorites. On my last batch I added nutmeg and cardamom. Here are some more suggestions:

*raw sunflower seeds

*flax seeds

*walnuts

*pumpkin seeds

*dried bananas

*dried apples

*nutmeg

*cardamom

*ginger

*allspice

*pumpkin pie spice

*almond extract

Get fancy! Have fun!

Triumphant Mozzarella Cheese

At last! I have made a successful mozzarella cheese. Go to my homesteading blog here to read about my long awaited triumph!

Baking Pumpkins

In October 2005 I bought some pumpkins and attempted to bake and puree them to store in the freezer. It was horrible. I had to keep adding water so the blender wouldn't choke up and then the pumpkin was so watered down it hardly tasted like pumpkin anymore. Needless to say I never tried baking pumpkin again. Until today.

Four years later I'm at the store and see sugar pumpkins for sale. They have this huge sticker on the bottom. I take a peek and it's a sticker telling me how to bake the little suckers! It was a brilliant marketing tool because I bought three. I realize now that I could have looked it up online long ago, but, well, I just didn't.

Baking pumpkin from scratch is no picnic. You have to cut out the stem, slice the thing in half and scoop out the innards. The scooping and scraping is what takes a goodly amount of time and elbow grease. You're probably wondering why I don't just behave like a normal person and get my pumpkin with the maximum effort of cranking a can opener. But let me tell you. After scraping the heck out of those pumpkins, setting them in to bake, having the pumpkiny aroma waft through my house, and then having the satisfaction of mashing the beautiful golden flesh to a happy mushiness was all I needed to tell myself that I would do it all again in a heartbeat; not to mention the delicious side benefit of munching the roasted pumpkin seeds.

So, I share the recipe I used that I should have had all those years ago. I will never be pumpkinless again in the fall. Even if there are backup cans of pumpkin on my shelf. :-)

Baked Pumpkin

Cut pumpkin in half without the stem. Scoop out the seeds and strings. (Easier said than done. HA!) Lightly grease foil or spray with cooking spray. Place cut down on foil lined baking sheets. Cover with foil. (I didn't, but it turned out fine.) Bake 350ºF until tender - 1 1/2 hours. Cool. Scoop out flesh and mash with potato masher until smooth. Drain if too watery.

Mashed pumpkin will hold 5 days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it.

**Note: It's almost impossible to get all the strings off the pumpkin. I scraped until I was too tired for perfection, and then as I mushed it up after baking I kept an eye out for any stringiness. It all turned out fine, so just do your best and don't worry if it's not perfect!

To use in a pie:

1 1/3 c. smooth pumpkin

1 1/3 c. sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 c. hot water

Mix all ingredients until well combined. Pour into 9" pie shell. Bake at 375ºF for 55 to 65 minutes. (Center will still move slightly.) Cool and enjoy.

Baked Pumpkin

Scooping out the baked pumpkin flesh.

Mashed pumpkin - isn't it a beautiful color?

Instead of Canned Soda...

I just think this is brilliant for personal sized beverages on the go made in the comfort of your own home. Check it out HERE. Great idea, Jenna!

Apple Butter

Another one of my fall favorites is apple butter. Growing up it was a staple, especially in the autumn when the apples were in season. If you ever get the chance to make this, please do, because it is so delicious and unique a spread. And it's fat free! The "butter" just refers to its spreadable consistancy like peanut butter. If you'd like to read more of my musings on this wonderful stuff, read about it on my homesteading blog HERE.

Apple Butter*

6 pounds tart cooking apples, cored and quartered (18 cups) (I also like to use different types of apples to give it a more complex flavor.)

6 cups apple cider or apple juice (If you can, use apple cider - the non-see through kind usually only available when in season. Cider just has a richer flavor.)

3 cups sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1. In an 8 or 10-quart kettle or large pot, combine apples and cider or juice. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press through a food mill. (You should have about 13 cups pulp.)

2. Return pulp to kettle. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 2 hours or till very thick, stirring often.

3. Spoon hot apple butter into hot, sterilized pint or half-pint jars, leaving a 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust lids. Process in boiling-water canner for 5 minutes. Allow to cool. Once opened, keep refrigerated.

Makes about 8 half-pints.

Beef Stew

In honor of my wishful thinking that autumn were here, I've decided to post my favorite beef stew recipe. I actually only have one recipe, but it's turned out so wonderfully every time I make it that I haven't tried looking for another. I made some just yesterday and it's just so warm, filling, and savory - and it goes great with a chewy, crusty baguette and a hunk of yummy cheese! (Side note: I tried a new, lovely French cheese called Belvedere Tomme. It has an apple cider rind and a hint of apple flavor to the cheese which was also very fragrant, but it was oh, so delicious. It's so much fun trying new cheese!) Okay, on to the recipe.

Beef Stew*

1 pound beef or pork stew meat (I get whatever is on sale)

2 Tbsp. cooking oil

3 1/2 - 4 cups vegetable juice cocktail (I have to open a big can of the juice, so I try to use as much of it as I can!)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tsp. instant beef bouillon granules or Better Than Bouillon Beef Paste (the paste is awesome!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. dried basil, crushed

1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed

2 1/4 cups cubed, peeled potatoes

2 cups sliced carrots

1 cup sliced celery

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1. In a large saucepan brown meat in hot oil. In a medium to large pot put in the meat cubes, add juice cocktail, onion, bouillon granules, garlic, basil, and thyme. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.

2. Ladel out a cup of the beef stew broth into a small bowl and whisk in the flour. If the paste is too thick, add a little more broth until the paste is smooth. Pour the paste into the pot, whisking to blend well. (This paste will get the stew to thicken.)

3. Cover and simmer 1 to 1 1/4 hours for beef (30 minutes for pork) or till meat is nearly tender. Add potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover; simmer 30 minutes more. Skim fat if needed.

Makes 4 main-dish servings.

*This recipe is adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook.