Stuffed Mushrooms

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I really, really like stuffed mushrooms. So I make them once a year.  Any more than that and I’d go broke buying mushrooms and cheese.

You can make stuffed mushrooms with what you have on hand usually as long as you have those two main ingredients.

When you break off the stems of the mushrooms, save them and chop them up to use in your stuffing. If you buy mushroom caps without stems, don’t worry, you can still make a delicious stuffing for them without the stems.

I chop up onions and the stems very finely. Mince. Then I add Italian sausage and top with cheese.

You can use most anything to stuff mushrooms; spinach, clams, bacon, oysters, pepperoni….. just as long as you  mince it so it fits inside the mushroom cap.

You can add the sausage to the mushroom cap without cooking it first. when you do that, it makes for a more compact final product. Its also easier to get everything to stay in the cap while you’re assembling them.

However, you can cook the sausage before assembling too. That’s what I did this time. I cooked the sausage with onions. Brushed the mushroom caps with butter. Added the sausage mixture, covered each mushroom with cheese and then baked them at 350*F for about 15 minutes.

If you use uncooked sausage to stuff the caps, you’ll need to keep them in the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes.

Filed Under: Cooking School, Tutorials

Eating In The Dark

January 5, 2012 By 3 Comments

Its that time of the year again…. when its hard to find fresh, locally grown food.  Sometimes the winter months are called Dark Days because the sun sets earlier and rises later than in the warmer months.

You can still eat locally in the dark days, but it takes some planning. And you may have to stretch beyond your usual borders if  you haven’t planned by freezing or canning locally grown foods.

Almost all grocery stores now have organic produce sections so be sure to take a look there. Though most of that produce will be grown in another state from yours, if it is certified organic, you might want to consider buying it. My local Kroger has peppers, potatoes, celery, carrots, apples, oranges, squash and more… all organic.

There are a few foods you should consider never buying unless they are organically grown because of all the chemicals that are still in the plant when you eat it:
The Dirty Dozen

Here is a list of foods that can be eaten safely even though not organic:
What You Should and Shouldn’t Buy Organic

The fresh foods that are usually available fresh during the dark days and often grown locally almost everywhere in the US are:

Kale (sometimes spinach)
Chard
Leeks
Cabbage
Brussels Sprouts (I never buy or grow these ’cause Mark won’t eat them, but I do like them roasted with some garlic)

Foods that store well and are usually available as organic during the dark days are:

Winter squashes like butternut and acorn
Rutabaga
Turnips
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions

Doesn’t leave too much choice, huh?

Well, if you supplement these foods with some whole grains and good meats, and some homemade desserts now and then, you won’t feel too deprived.

This is exactly why I can so much. We like to have home canned applesauce, pears and peaches, jams and butters all winter long. I freeze fresh fruit too so that I can make cobblers and dumplings.  I freeze and can vegetables that I can’t buy fresh and organic during the winter like Lima beans, green beans, broccoli and tomatoes.

Its not impossible to make delicious meals using whole grains, meat and the vegetables that are available during the winter.

When you make a stew, add a handful of fresh dark greens.

Peel and cut up some of those fresh veggies and roast them with some oil, salt and rosemary or thyme. About 45 minutes in a 400*F oven will make them delicious.

Filling, nutritious soups can be made with winter squashes.

Don’t forget to add dark greens to beans for hearty meals. One of our favorites is Beans with Beet Greens. You can use kale instead of the beet greens.

Stir-fried kale with garlic and sea salt is very good. My daughters crave it in the winter and we eat it just about weekly.

There are all kinds of recipes out there on the internet and here at CHK, too. With a little planning and foresight, the Dark Days can be filled with healthy, nutritious foods.

Filed Under: Cooking School

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

December 26, 2011 By 4 Comments

This is a super good dessert for a cold day. Just make it and serve warm. Add a little whipped cream for an even richer treat.

My chocolate pudding recipe uses flour for thickening instead of cornstarch. Its better. It gives you that thickness you want but it imparts a deep, rich flavor that cornstarch just can’t give.

Here is what you need:

1/4 c flour
6 Tablespoons sugar
2 1/3 cups whole milk
dash of salt
4 Tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract

Place all dry ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Gradually add the milk and butter, blending thoroughly all the while.
Set over a low flame and stir until the pudding thickens and starts to bubble when you stop stirring for a moment.
Turn off heat. Cool slightly, blend in vanilla.

The above recipe makes about 4 servings.

Resist using higher heat for this. It scorches quickly.

I use a immersion or stick blender on low to blend the ingredients while adding the liquid.

Filed Under: Recipes

Chocolate Ginger Chewies – A Re-post

December 23, 2011 By 4 Comments

This is by far my favorite  cookie.  It has my two favorite ingredients: ginger and chocolate. Its chocolaty enough for children (and me) and gingery enough for adults. Plus, its really a pretty cookie all sparkly with the sugar coating.  Its pretty much perfect. I meant to get them made for Wardeh’s cookie event but I didn’t. Believe me its not because I didn’t want them!  Its the fresh ginger that gives these cookies their beautiful flavor. OK, and the chocolate.cookie

You can replace the all purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour and the sugar with rapadura or sucanat which will give them more of a molasses taste – still delicious!

  • 7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
  3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.
  4. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Filed Under: Recipes
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