Thayer in the Kitchen

In my previous post I mentioned the cookbook, Fresh Food Nation.   This is a another recipe that I tried and liked.  It called for preserved lemons which I just happened to have in my refrigerator.  I think you could substitute a little grated lemon peel.  6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs 8 oz. mild fresh chilies, such as Anaheim, banana or Poblano peppers, cored, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise. You could also add jalapeno for a bit more heat or just use sweet peppers if you prefer.  1-2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped 6 cloves of garlic, chopped 1/4 cup olive oil 2 teaspoons turmeric 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron (not essential) Kosher salt to taste 1 medium chopped 1 bay leaf 2 tablespoons preserved lemon, chopped 1/2 cup stuffed green olives 1 1/2-2# potatoes cut into chunks, only peel if necessary.  You can use less potatoes if you prefer. In a large deep skillet, lightly brown the chicken in the olive oil...

This is a recipe that I adapted from the cookbook, Fresh Food Nation: Simple, Seasonal Recipes from America's Farmers , by Martha Holmberg in 2013.  " Fresh Food Nation is at the intersection of a big need and a big trend. The need is for recipes, techniques, and inspiration for fresh produce, especially vegetables. The trend is the growing desire to eat local and connect with the source of our food--not just because locally grown food is fresher and tastier, but because it offers emotional, environmental, and food safety benefits. CSAs (community-supported agriculture organizations)are the latest wave in the rising tide of eating local."  I borrowed the book from our public library because I'm always on the lookout for good recipes to use the vegetables from our CSA share.  I've liked most of the recipes that I've tried.  I particularly liked this recipe because it combines a couple of my favorites: cornbread and pecans.  Plus it was a good way to use s...

This is a recipe for some wonderful cornmeal pancakes that I saw made on a Cook's Country TV show.  I love cornmeal in anything but they commented that some people don't like it because of the grittiness.  Arthur has some of those feelings, but he loved these pancakes.  I also wanted to post the recipe because usually after the season is over the recipes are no longer available.  I know because I've tried saving them before without success. Ingredients 1 3/4 cups buttermilk 1 1/4 cups cornmeal 2 tablespoons butter 3/4 cups flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs   Directions 1. Whisk together 1 1/4 cups buttermilk and cornmeal. Stir in butter and microwave for 90 seconds stirring once during the cooking.  Stir, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. 2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Beat eggs and remain...

This is the first of a couple of sweet potato recipes that I want to post.  We've been getting some great sweet potatoes in our winter CSA share.  This recipe is from our CSA website (Driftless Organics) and is excellent because it makes a great complete meal with some good cornbread. 2 Tbsp. oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 red pepper, chopped (can be frozen) 1 green pepper, chopped (can be frozen) 1 tsp. each cumin & coriander seed 1 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. chipotle powder (optional, but good) ¼ tsp. each mace and cinnamon 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed 1 can (15 oz.) black beans with liquid 1 can (15 oz.) red, kidney, or pinto beans 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced or crushed tomatoes with liquid OR 2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes 1 cup water, tomato juice, or chicken broth Sour cream and cilantro for garnish In soup pot, heat oil and add onions. Sauté until golden; add ja...

This is a copycat recipe for the soup served at Olive Garden where it is described as a soup of spicy sausage, fresh kale and russet potatoes in a creamy broth.  I made a few adaptations to the many recipes that I found online.  It is a delicious soup which could probably be made a bit more healthy but that's up to you if you decide to try it. Ingredients 1# bulk Italian sausage 2 slices bacon 1 cup yellow onions, diced 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 (32 oz.) container chicken broth (4 cups) 4 cups potatoes (no need to peel) cut into large cubes 4 cups chopped kale 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 1/2 cup heavy cream (or substitute 1/2 and 1/2--it just won't be quite as rich) Garnish: shredded Parmesan cheese Directions Roughly chop the kale.  First remove the stems which are very tough and don't get tender.  I know because I tried cooking kale one time without doing this.  I have not repeated that exp...

We got one of these lovely red squashes in one of our CSA boxes from Driftless Organics.  They grow lots of great squash which I'm very pleased about since winter squash is one of my favorite vegetables.  There are a lot of varieties and the red kuri is one of the prettiest and very tasty as well.  I found this recipe for a Thai Green Curry and decided it was a worthy use of my squash.  If you go to the original website you can see pictures of the curry.  http://carpeseason.com/thai-green-curry-with-red-kuri-squash/   I'm not sure mine was quite as pretty but I think it tasted just as good.  I'm sure you could substitute other varieties of winter squash such as butternut with good results. Ingredients 1 tbsp. olive oil 1/2-3/4 cup of sliced onions, red or yellow 1 Anaheim pepper, cut into thin slices (flash-frozen bell peppers would also work well) 5-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2-in. piece of fresh ginger, peeled and g...

I found a number of recipes that attempted to mimic the biscuits that are served at Red Lobster restaurants.  This was originally posted on food.com, but I made a number of adaptations.  I was very pleased with the results and would have happily eaten all the biscuits myself.  Arthur is not a biscuit fan but admitted these were very good.  They are in no way healthy, but they make a tasty occasional treat. 2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix 1/4 cup butter 3/4 cup cold milk 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder Topping ingredients 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the butter into the baking mix.  Add the milk, cheese and 1/4 tsp. garlic powder.  You should have a stiff dough that you can roll out.  Lightly flour a surface, roll out the dough 1" thick and cut into biscuits.  Place the biscuits on an ...

We had Thanksgiving yesterday with one of my daughter's and her family.  They requested that I bring mashed potatoes with leeks and said I had made the dish before. I didn't remember making it but I did a bit of searching and found what sounded like a very good recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website. 4 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled and preferably organic 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter 4 leeks, white and light green portions, finely chopped and rinsed well 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 1⁄2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper or to taste   Cut the potatoes into large, uniform chunks. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and add water to cover and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover partially and cook the potatoes, stirring once or twice, until they are very tender, about 30-40 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, in a fry pan over medium heat, melt t...

I've posted recipes for stuffed delicata squash previously but I just made this one this week and we thought it was delicious.  Leftovers heat up well for lunch too.  I love this squash!  It is so sweet and tender.  It doesn't keep as well as some of the harder shelled squash so be sure to use it sooner than later. 4 delicata squash, halved and seeded l large onion finely diced (about 1 cup) 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2-4 stalks of celery, finely diced 2 large carrots, finely diced 1# of bulk Italian sausage 1 cup soft whole wheat breadcrumbs 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place halved and seeded squash cut side down in a large roasting pan.  Cover with foil and roast until tender.  It can take from 40-60 minutes.  While the squash is baking, brown the sausage.  Make sure it is broken up into small pieces.  I use my potato masher as it cooks to break up the sausage...

I may have mentioned before when you have a full CSA share you need to expand your thinking on when to eat vegetables.  They're not just for dinner.  I try to think of ways to incorporate vegetables into our weekend breakfasts.  We got sweet potatoes in our last box.  I found this recipe and adapted it for one of our breakfasts. 1/2 cup of diced onion 1/2 cup of sweet peppers 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 3-4 pork sausage breakfast links, cut into pieces 2 cups shredded sweet potatoes 2 cups of spinach or any other tender greens that are available.  I used the tops from our hakuri turnips. 3-4 eggs Salt and pepper to taste shredded cheese (whatever you have available) avocado to garnish, if available.  I didn't have any. The quantities are very flexible for this dish.  These are just guidelines.  You can also add mushrooms if you wish. Use a large skillet, heat and add about 2 tablespoons sunflower seed oil (Driftless Organic...

We went to a pizza party at our CSA farm, Driftless Organics, in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago.  They have a guy come with his portable wood fired pizza oven that looks like a little igloo and make pizzas to order.  The members bring salads and desserts.  At this point, my refrigerator was somewhat overrun with peppers.  I found a recipe online for Roasted Red Pepper Spread.  Naturally I tinkered with it.  I only decided to make half the recipe which called for 6# of peppers. The quantities for this recipe are quite flexible. 3# of sweet peppers, whatever varieties you have available.  The cute little mini peppers don't work very well.  The skins are too thin. 2 oz. of hot peppers.  I used 1/2 of a habanero pepper which was way too much and produced a very hot spread.  It would probably be better to use 1 or 2 jalapenos.  If using hotter peppers just add a small quantity at a time. 1/2# of tomatoes....

I found this recipe for using broccoli on the Blue Moon Community Farm website.  Kristen, who is the farmer, has a lot of good recipes for using produce.  This dish is so healthy I feel better just thinking about it.  It also tastes good! In case you are not familiar with quinoa.  Quinoa has been called a  superfood.   Protein content is very high for a cereal/grain product. Quinoa's protein content per 100 calories is higher than brown rice, potatoes, barley and millet. Nutritional evaluations of quinoa indicate that it is a source of complete protein . Furthermore, it is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron . Quinoa is also a source of calcium , and thus is useful for vegans and those who are lactose intolerant . Quinoa is gluten -free and considered easy to digest. A nice plus is that is also very mild in flavor and mixes with other ingredients well. 3 cups cooked quinoa* 5 cups raw brocc...

At this time of the year in Wisconsin, we see a lot of zucchini and summer squash.   I never mind getting the squash in my CSA box or from my friends, because it is so versatile.  This recipe is adapted from Simply Recipes, a great food blog with tons of excellent recipes + pictures (unlike mine).  According to Elise Bauer, " The shredded zucchini added to the mix makes these turkey burgers incredibly moist. Both turkey and zucchini can be a little dull flavor-wise, but you when boost them with herbs and spices like mint, cilantro, garlic, cumin, and cayenne, they are anything but dull." 1 pound ground turkey meat Just under 2 cups, lightly packed, coarsely grated zucchini 3 green onions, thinly sliced, onion greens included 2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (tender stems included) 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon cayenne   ...

This is a very good and rather unusual summer salad.  The ingredients for it are plentiful now in the summer months. 3 cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced thinly (1/2 moon shape) (about 4 cups) 1 pint (2 cups) fresh blueberries Salt & pepper to taste 1/2 cup any vinaigrette dressing you like, a balsamic is a good choice 3-4 tablespoons thinly sliced mint leaves 1 cup or less (about 1/4#) crumbled feta cheese.  I used goat feta cheese from DreamFarm. Combine cucumbers and blueberries.  Season with salt & pepper. Add dressing, mint, and feta.  Toss gently to combine You could serve this over a bed of salad greens if you like. Adapted from a Wegman's recipe. 

This isn't a summer produce recipe.  In fact I made it in the cold weather, but I really thought it made a great weekend breakfast and don't want to lose it.  Biscuits are one of my favorites.  I also discovered I love sausage gravy over biscuits.  Definitely not something I grew up with.  It isn't always easy to get good sausage gravy and biscuits in northern  restaurants.  This recipe steps it up a notch and adds herbs to the biscuits and chorizo to the sausage gravy.  If you aren't able to get chorizo, Italian sausage also works well in this recipe. Herbed breakfast biscuits (12)   Ingredients: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup whole wheat flour (or more all-purpose flour) 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar, to taste ½ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced 3 tablespoons trans fat-free vegetable shortening, very cold 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or chives (or a combination) ¾ cup w...

At this time of the year you will probably consistently see either summer squash or zucchini in your CSA share.  I can never get too much of either one because it is so versatile. You can use zucchini or yellow summer squash to make this squash casserole.  It is a very basic casserole but to me it is really comfort food. 2 pounds squash thickly sliced (7 cups) 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 10 3/4 ounce can cream of chicken soup 1 cup sour cream 1 cup shredded carrot 1/4 cup butter 2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix (about 1/2 of 8 ounce package)  I prefer Pepperidge Farm brand   Cook squash with onion in boiling salt water for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain well. Combine soup and sour cream. Stir in shredded carrot. Fold in drained squash and onion. Melt butter; toss with stuffing mix. Spread half of the stuffing in a 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish (about 1 1/2 to 2-quart size). Spoon vegetable mixture on top. Sprinkle with remaining st...

We went to my son and daughter-in-law's for the July 4 weekend.  I was asked to bring potato salad, but my son doesn't like mayonnaise.  I found this recipe for French Potato Salad on the Food Network.  It was originally a Barefoot Contessa recipe.  I made a few adaptations. This is a great salad for picnics because you don't have to worrry about keeping it cold. It is good at room temperature. I love the variety of fresh herbs in this version.  I have an herb garden on my deck so at this time of the year fresh herbs are readily accessible. If I made this recipe again I would double the recipe. 2# white or red potatoes or a mixture (if organic, no need to peel) 2 tablespoons dry white wine 2 tablespoons chicken stock 3 tablespoons white wine or tarragon vinegar 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1-2 teaspoons kosher salt 3/4 tsp. black pepper 1/2 cup good olive oil 1/4 cup green onions (white and green parts), chopped 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill...

Unfortunately we are coming to the end of the strawberry season.  It is so short, at least here in Wisconsin.  If you still have a few berries available this is a great recipe to use them.  I brought a sample to work today and the response was, "I must have that recipe!"  1 1/2 Cups fresh strawberries, sliced 1 Cup granulated sugar, divided 1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon (Ceylon Cinnamon from Penzeys if available) 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract  1/2 Cup melted butter (1 stick) 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional but good) Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease and flour a standard glass (8x5”) loaf pan. Rinse, core and slice the strawberries, place in a small bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 Cup sugar. In a large mixing bowl, blend together the remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until foamy, ...

I found myself with some leftover cottage cheese in the frig.  I'm not a cottage cheese fan, but I like it in food where I don't have to deal with the strange consistency.  These pancakes sounded promising and they turned out to be very good, especially after I added some fresh strawberries to the batter.  I also added some coarsely chopped pecans, both are totally optional. I know that some people don't like "stuff" in their pancakes.  The cottage cheese also adds some protein to the pancakes. 1 cup unbleached flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 4 eggs 1 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup milk 2 tablespoons oil (canola or sunflower seed) 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries 1/2 cup chopped pecans Stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and sugar.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, milk and oil.  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk just until blended.  At the this point you can ...

This recipe does not adhere to my usual local produce and ingredients focus.  However, yesterday the Fabian Seafood truck came to Madison with their delicious, fresh shrimp, oysters, etc.  We decided to make oyster stew.  I used the recipe from Simply Recipes and made a few changes.  It is quick easy and lovely comfort food. 5 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 pint oysters with their liquor 1/4 cup flour 2 celery stalks, minced 1 medium onion, minced (about 1/2 cup) 1 3/4 cup milk 1/4 cup cream (can use all milk if you want) Splash of hot sauce Salt (if needed) Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup parsley, minced 1 Strain the oyster juice through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl to remove any grit. Reserve the juices. 2 Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Saute the celery and onions until tender.  Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the mixture for a few minutes, stirring often. 3 Add the oyster juice fro...