Thayer in the Kitchen

This is a great winter comfort food recipe for a combination of mashed potatoes and parsnips with some tasty additions. Its a really easy recipe with a great return on your investment of time. 1 1/2# pototes, peeled or not as you prefer (6 small) 1# parsnips (3 medium), peeled and cut into chuncks 1/2 cup 1/2 & 1/2 or milk 3 tablspoons butter 1/2 cup sour cream (optional, but tasty) 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled 2 tablespoons chopped chives (or parsley if chives are not available) Salt and pepper to taste Place potatoes and parsnips in a large pot. Cover with salted water and cook until fork tender. Drain. Add half-and-half and the butter to the pot and stir until butter is melted. Return hot drained potatoes and parsnips to the pot and mash, leaving some small chunks for texture. Stir in Cheddar cheese, bacon, and chives. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Adapted from About.com Home Cooking

We still have some of the vegetables left from our fall/winter CSA storage share.  I've been keeping them in the special green produce storage bags.  I bought some at our local food co-op (Willy Street) and then ordered more on line.  I'm not sure of the brand name, but they really do help to keep produce fresher longer.  I have found that they collect a lot of moisture so I usually add a paper towel to the bag with the produce.  Has anyone else tried them?  If so, what do you think? Some of the vegetables we have left are beets.  This is a very good salad using beets.  Kind of like pickled beets with some extra pizazz.  4 medium size beets or about 1#, roasted and peeled 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (or whatever kind you have available) 1 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large clove garlic or 2 small salt & peeper to taste 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 2 or more tablespoon chopped fresh dill Roast the beets, peel and cut ...

This was adapted from a recipe of Wolfgang Puck's that I found in the Chicago Tribune a number of years ago. Finding myself with a red cabbage from our CSA farm I decided to try the recipe.  Arthur really liked it a lot and said I should post it. He's probably hoping that I'll make it again next season with a red cabbage.  I divided the recipe in half and it still makes a lot.  2 tablespoons oil 1 small to medium red onion, thinly sliced 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 apples, preferably tart, peeled and thinly sliced 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1 cup each red wine and orange juice 1 cinnamon stick 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper 2 pounds red cabbage, quartered, cored and thinly sliced.  I found this easy to do in food processor. Heat the oil and add the onion. Cook until translucent.  Sprinkle in the brown sugar; cook until it is melted and starts to caramelize.  Add the apples and stir to combine with the onio...

This is a great soup that uses local seasonal ingredients (mostly) and is easy as well as delicious. 1 tablespoon oil 1 cup chopped onions 1/2 - 1 cup chopped celery 3 cups (about) sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 cups (about) ripe pears, cored and cubed (no need to peel) I used pears from Future Fruit 3-4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (depending on how thick you like your soup) 1/4-1/2 cup dry sherry or vermouth (optional but tasty) 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest 1 cinnamon stick 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste) 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Plain yogurt or sour cream (optional) Thin slices of pear as a garnish for the soup Chopped fresh parsley if you have any Heat the oil and saute the onions and celery until tender but not brown (about 10 minutes). Add the sweet potatoes, pears, broth, sherry, cinnamon stick, orange zest, thyme and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30-35 minutes ...

I went to a tea party Sunday afternoon and brought these scones.  I think they may be some of the best that I've every made.  Naturally I tweaked the original recipe. 2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup butter (has to be butter) 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup walnuts 1-2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel 3/4 cup buttermilk Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in your food processor, except for the sugar.  Add the butter.  Pulse on and off until butter is the size of peas.  Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Put the cranberries and sugar in the processor and pulse on and off until coarsely chopped. Add the chopped cranberries, walnuts and orange zest to the dry ingredients.  Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough comes together.  Gather into a ball and knead 6-8 times.  Add a bit of flour if it i...

This is another excellent recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, Simply Recipes.  I highly recommend you check out Elise Bauer's blog.  This recipe is a good way to use zucchini with a little different twist, which is the addition of rosemary and lemon to the bread. 3 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary (not the dried rosemary) 2 eggs 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter 1/4 cup olive oil or sunflower seed oil 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 1/4 cup sugar 1 Tbsp lemon zest 3 cups grated zucchini (from about 1 pound of zucchini) 1 Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two small loaf pans, either coating with butter or spraying with baking spray. 2 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and rosemary. 3 Beat the eggs in a mixer (or by hand) until frothy. Beat in the sugar. Beat in the melted butter and oil. Stir in the lemon zest and grated zucchini. 4 Add the dry ingredients to the...

My sister originally made her Thanksgiving mashed potatoes using this recipe and it has become a family favorite in both parts of the country.  We typically spend Thanksgiving with one of my adult children and their families.  I am almost always asked to bring this recipe for Do Ahead Mashed Potatoes .  You can obviously make a smaller quantity, but we all like to have some to take home as leftovers to go with the turkey. 5 lbs. of peeled potatoes, cut in chunks 1 8 oz. package cream cheese 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup green onions (scallions), chopped fine including some of the green tops 1/2 cup minced celery 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1/4 cup butter 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon paprika Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender.  As the potatoes are cooking, saute green onions, celery and parsley in the butter in a medium skillet until tender.  Drain potatoes and return pa...