by GardenLover | May 27, 2012 | Good eats
By Debra Knapke
It is difficult to find time to sit down at the computer and compose articles about food as I am so busy in the garden planting, weeding and spreading compost, all the while salivating as I dream of the riches to come. One “fruit” that we are harvesting now is rhubarb. It is strange to call the stem of a plant a fruit, but we tend to call our sweet foods fruits and our savory foods vegetables. And, this is definitely a sweet ending to a meal.
The first time I tasted rhubarb in a palatable form was in a pie made by my mother-in-law. It was difficult not to ask for thirds. It is now the pie of choice in our house in May and into June. Our children assume that rhubarb pie will make an appearance on the Mother’s Day and Memorial Day weekends. It’s non-negotiable.
As a plant, rhubarb makes a bold statement in the garden, and the bloom is gorgeous. Once it sends up the flowering stem, you need to stop harvesting. First, you need to stop robbing the plant of its leaves. Secondly, the stems will become very sour which is a sign that the oxalic acid content has increased past the point for safe eating. Never eat the leaves or roots. Some sources recommend that you not eat rhubarb stems after July. I find it to be too sour by the end of June.
Rhubarb Cream Pie
Based on a recipe from my mother-in-law, Mary Knapke
Your pie crust of choice for a 9” pie pan. My preference is a butter-based pie crust that I create in my food processor. You do not need to pre-bake the crust.
Filling:
3½ to 4 c. of rhubarb, cut into 1” pieces
1½ c. sugar; to deepen the flavor use: 1 c. white and ½ c. brown or half white and half brown
3 TBS flour (2-3 more if rhubarb is very juicy–usually at beginning of season and if we have had a lot of rain)
1 TBS butter, melted
2 eggs
Blend sugars, flour and butter. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Pour over rhubarb in a 9” crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes (the middle should barely wiggle when done).
by GardenLover | Mar 23, 2012 | Good eats
Posted March 19:
Here on the last day of winter, Teresa and Michael are delighting in their latest garden harvests. Teresa dug winter carrots that she sowed last fall, and Michael’s been enjoying a covered row of collards through this mild winter. Now, they just need Debra to create a good recipe with the two ingredients. For next season, they’re making more plans for multiple crops. Michael has a cold frame ready to plant tomato seeds, and Teresa recently planted peas and lettuce seeds. What vegetables are you planting this spring?
Debra’s Response: Most of the Midwest has experienced a very moderate winter with respect to temperature. The collards and carrots that Michael and Teresa are enjoying have a sweetness to them that is born of being frosted, but not frozen. Today, while planting peas, I noticed that our kale has resprouted from the stems that I cut back last month after we harvested, what I thought, was our last kale. It has been a most surprising winter!
For a quick yet very satisfying side dish, try roasting carrots and collards. Again, I’m offering a free-form recipe; a cooking technique rather than a specific dish.
Roasted Collards and Carrots
Preheat the oven to 425°.
Scrub or peel the carrots, 2-3 per person depending on the size, and slice them into 1 ½” pieces
Toss with 1-2 TBS of olive oil – I use Extra Virgin – and herbs of your choice. One of my favorite combinations is dill, shallot pepper (from Penzy’s) and salt.
Spread the carrots out on a roasting pan. About pans: I have round deep steel pans and stoneware baking sheet pans. Both are great.
Roast for ~25 minutes or until you see the carrots starting to carmelize.
While the carrots are roasting, wash and chop the collards (or kale) into 1-2” pieces.
When the carrots are at where you want them, toss the collards on top, mix quickly, and cook for 5 minutes. The collards will slightly crisp and take on a toasty flavor.
An optional addition: toss some sesame seeds on top of the vegetables when you remove them from the oven.
Enjoy!
by GardenLover | Mar 9, 2012 | Good eats
By Debra Knapke
We are now enjoying the currant jam that we made in July.
This is a hands-on, work-with-it recipe…. in other words, you need to be flexible and work with the amount of fruit that you pick. Also, be aware that different moisture levels in the soil will affect the water content in the currants.
There are many ways to make jellies, jams and preserves. This is a recipe my husband has been working on for several years.
Tony’s Currant Jam
Pick the currants, rinse and remove berries that are rotten or green. Under-ripe fruit is OK as long as it isn’t hard.
Wash your jars in very hot water and pour boiling water over your canning lids and rings.
Mash the currants in a large soup pot, bring to a boil and gently boil for 3-5 minutes. Put the cooked fruit through a food mill and press out as much juice and pulp as you can without forcing small pieces of skin through the holes.
Measure the juice as you return it to the soup pot. For every 1 ¾ cups of juice/pulp, add 1 cup of sugar. Mix well.
Cook for approximately 25 minutes at a gentle boil. Skim off excessive foam off the top. As you get close to 25 minutes, test the juice by cupping some on a spoon. If it covers the spoon and slightly gels, it is ready for putting into jars to be canned or to be refrigerated. In high moisture years (like 2011), you will need to cook longer, up to an hour.
To judge how many pint jars, lids and rings you will need to wash and sterilize, here are the last two years of currant jam data:
2010: 13 cups of juice and 7 ½ cups of sugar yielded 12 cups of jam (6 pints)
2011: (too much rain, a lot of the fruit rotted before we realized that the fruit ripened earlier than usual) 7 ½ cups of juice and 4 ¼ cups of sugar yielded 8 ½ cups of jam (4 pints and the leftover went into the refrigerator)
To can or not to can: freshness of flavor – the more you process, the more cooked the jam will taste. We prefer to refrigerate and not can our currant jam. The room in the refrigerator is worth it.
A note about pectin — never had to use it as currants normally have a high pectin content. Last year, it might have been a good addition.
by GardenLover | Feb 24, 2012 | Good eats
By Debra Knapke
July, through October is the time to make and freeze pesto so that you can savor the taste of summer in the middle of winter. While basil pesto is a favorite, there are many types for this burst of flavor. This past year, sage, celery, and garlic scape pestos joined the basil pesto in my freezer. The recipes for these pestos will be presented in the summer blogs, but for now, here is a recipe where you can use the pesto that you, hopefully, made last summer.
Basil Pesto Walnut Scuffins
- 1 c. whole wheat flour
- 1 c. unbleached white flour
- 2 Tbs brown sugar
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt (scant)
- 1 Tbs flaxseed meal (optional)
- 2 tsp quinoa flakes (optional)
- 1 c. yogurt or buttermilk
- ¼ c. extra virgin olive or canola oil
- 1 egg
- ¼ c. basil pesto (yours will always be better, but commercially prepared is fine)
- ¾ c. walnuts, coarsely chopped (pecans, cashews or pine nuts, too)
Preheat oven to 400°F (convection: 375°F). Lightly butter 12 muffin cups. (If you make mini-scuffins: 2 recipes make two pans of 24 minis)
Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together wet ingredients and pesto. Mix well. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour wet ingredients into dry. Add walnuts and fold the dry ingredients into the wet.*
Spoon batter into prepared pans. Scuffins: bake for 20-25 minutes; mini-scuffins: bake 10-12 minutes. Remove baked muffins from pan after 5 minutes and cool on wire racks.
These muffins freeze well.
* The secret with scuffins — even more than with muffins — is not to overmix them. I use a sturdy spatula, and use a “folding” movement instead of stirring.
Another scuffin note: yogurt or buttermilk reacts quickly with baking powder and baking soda. You will notice a spongy texture forms as you spoon the dough into the muffin cups. Try not to compact the forming sponge, work quickly and get the scuffins in the oven where the heat will finish the rising process.
by GardenLover | Feb 21, 2012 | Good eats
By Debra Knapke
Pickles… the vegetable preserve that we put up in July to October. Plunked on hamburgers, added to our potato salad or just eaten because they taste so good, cucumber pickles are reminders of the taste of high summer. For those of you who like exact measures and exact recipes, sorry to disappoint you. No matter how many times I make pickles, each season’s offering seems to process a little bit differently from the year before. But, each year’s pickles taste the best ever.
So why offer this recipe to you now instead of July? Because you are eating those pickles now, and you just might remember to look back into our archives to retrieve this recipe. If not, we will remind you, in July, that it is here.
Many people are represented in my garden by the plants they have given me. Many people are represented in my kitchen by the recipes they have given me. The following recipe was given to me by a dear friend who lives not only in my heart, but in my kitchen.
Mother Elssa’s Sweet Pickles
A family recipe handed down to my friend Jane Cooper and then handed over to me
30 6″ or so cucumbers, sliced ¼” (Adjust thickness for desired crispness.)
½ c salt
2 medium onions sliced about 3/16-inch (Can use more onions)
Cover with water; let stand for 2 hours; drain
5 c sugar
1 qt white vinegar
1 Tbs mustard seed
1 Tbs celery seed
4 black peppercorns/pint jar.
Heat thoroughly. Add the cucumber slices and heat them through. A shorter heating time will produce a crisper pickle; a longer heating time will produce a softer pickle.
Can the pickles while still hot: Read the latest recommendations for canning cucumber pickles in Extension publications or in the Kerr and Ball Canning Guides. Alternately (for crisper pickles), let the jars cool and refrigerate. Even if a hot water canning bath is not used, lids may seal, but don’t rely on that: refrigerate!!
This recipe makes between 8-10 pints; depends on the size of the cucumbers.
by GardenLover | Jan 23, 2012 | Good eats
By Debra Knapke
Winter is a time for comfort food, sustaining us in this dark and cold season. This harkens back to the time when we worked outside and needed substantial meals to keep hale and hearty. While our need for lots of calories in the winter has decreased, our desire for filling, tasty food has not. Below, an offering that is full of flavor, has a protein boost and will not significantly increase your belt size – unless you eat them all at one sitting!!
Apple Cranberry Muffins
- ¾ c. canola oil
- 1 c. sugar (scant this to bring out apple/cranberry flavors)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 c. whole wheat flour
- 1 c. unbleached white flour
- 1 TBS flaxseed meal (optional)
- 1 tsp quinoa flakes (optional)
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- 1 ½ c. diced apples
- ½ c. dried cranberries (or raisins)
- ½ c. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 400°F (convection: 375°F). Lightly butter 12 muffin cups. Combine flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat or whisk together wet ingredients. Mix well. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold just to combine. Fold in apples, raisins and walnuts.* Spoon batter into prepared pans. Muffins: bake for 20-25 minutes; mini-muffins: bake 10-12 minutes. Remove baked muffins from pan after 5-10 minutes and cool on wire racks. These muffins freeze well.
*Psst! Here’s the secret to good muffins — don’t stir vigorously and over mix the batter. Instead gently fold ingredients together.
By Debra Knapke
Blend sugars, flour and butter. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Pour over rhubarb in a 9” crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes (the middle should barely wiggle when done).
