I don’t do a lot of wraps. But this winter has provided us with a bounty of sweet winter carrots, we had some really good local chicken that needed eating, and, after a slow market day (too cold, I guess), we had several unsold bags of our spinach to eat our way through. Sure, salads seem like a logical choice. But, I wanted something different. So, I improvised a blackened chicken wrap.
So many ways to use a turkey… But it’s winter, and comfort food is in order. Carbs, cheese, AND tryptophan, all in one dish! This casserole is loosely based on turkey tetrazzini, and was made with shredded turkey meat picked off the bones after making turkey stock. Of course, I used some of the stock, too.
This beef short rib and noodle soup is perfect for winter. It’s rich, savory, and full of comforting umami. It is braised for hours, filling the kitchen with the wonderful hygge we so long for during nesting season. Yet a healthy dose of ginger gives it a pop of brightness during the season of dark grey. It is also full of collagen, elastin, and chondroitin, to help support our joints – always appreciated in the cold days of winter!
Christmas Eve found us retreating inside, close to the wood stove, as the -35 F wind chill and blowing snow made outdoor activity rather unpleasant. But, if you have a wood stove and time to hang around it, you can do all sorts of fun cooking. On this day, I made a delicious lamb tagine with freeze-dried wild blackberries we foraged this summer, and dates from the pantry.Continue reading →
Gingerbread. It’s for more than making houses and teaching kids the dangers of hubris, overconfidence, and ignoring the advice of others. It also tastes good. At least when made like this. So, put away the royal icing, the gumdrops, the candy canes. Open up the spice rack instead, and wrap your taste buds in true holiday yum.
Like most folks, we’re struggling a bit financially right now. But we also want to eat well, with some comforting winter food to tide us over the dark months. Stoups – thick, hearty one-dish meals that fall somewhere between a stew and soup – are among my favorite winter concoctions. They’re delicious, comforting, and fill the house with wonderful aromas while they cook. They also play well with improvisation. This time, I improvised a smokey, somewhat spicy, chipotle chicken and wild rice soup.
I’ve had a lot of pizza since I started the Pie of the Week project. While it has been rewarding and I’m nowhere near done with the project, I wanted to do something more creative with the Roccbox pizza oven. I also needed to clear space in the freezer for lambs headed to the butcher this week. There was a whole chicken from Jim and Peggy Metz at the Culver Farmers’ Market in there, taking up space. So, I decided to see how a spatchcock chicken would turn out in the Roccbox.
A ragu is an Italian sauce or stew, made with tomatoes, ground meat, vegetables, and wine, and cooked for a very long time. Blognese sauce is a variation on a ragu that most of us are familiar with – though, in that case, a specific regional variation that is a bit heavier on tomato than most.
Ragus are frequently used with pasta, especially spaghetti. But they can go on just about anything. Or, in the case of this week’s Pie of the Week, in anything, or at least a calzone. They are rich, hearty, and full of flavor!Continue reading →
I’ve had several requests for the Neapolitan pizza crust recipe I use for my farm to fire pizzas, since I began sharing my Pie of the Week journey. Continue reading →