Spring is officially here. It’s a lovely day, sun shiney, a bit cool, but leaves are starting to come out. I am keeping a close eye on all of the perennials I planted last fall, and almost all have come up. And of course we have been babying our vegetable seedlings in our grow-tent, which will start to go into the ground any minute now. It’s a very hopeful time of year, full of new beginnings and promise.
We have been hosting special receptions each month as a part of the celebration of our choir’s 25th anniversary. Each month I am faced with the challenge of beautiful finger food that fits in a budget, and isn’t the same every time. I often use ingredients I’ve popped into the freezer. Cheese and crackers are always a good staple. We tried out two different recipes of cheese balls, and ended up combining elements of both to make a really classy cheese ball with lots of flavor. It’s a cheddar/Parmesan with port wine-soaked craisins folded into the mixture. Really delicious, and everyone loved it!
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Cheddar/Parmesan Cheese Ball with port wine soaked craisins
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Soak craisins in port wine.
- In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix cream cheese, sour cream, shredded cheeses, lemon zest, onion, garlic, pepper, cayenne until well combined, adding craisins at the end.
- Put chopped pecans on a piece of waxed paper.
- Remove cheese mixture from bowl, form into a ball, and roll in the chopped pecans.
- Can be refrigerated, but fine to serve right away.
The kitchen was really busy last night. Eight of us were buzzing around cooking for an upcoming party. Really great energy. As much as I think I am a person who prefers to be alone, I love the energy of being in the kitchen with a crowd of people. Don’t get me wrong — there is something to cooking alone — being there in the quiet, creating something delicious for someone else to enjoy. It ministers to my spirit, and I sometimes get great ideas and thoughts about other projects. But a group that is working well together, chaotic as it might be, also ministers to the whole group in a way that can’t be duplicated. In the middle of this I was putting together my favorite Beef Mushroom Barley soup for guests and a retreat group the next day. What could be better on a cold rainy day! My brother in law just came through and tasted the soup. He said it needed some red wine, so I added a splash. He was so right!
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Mushroom Beef Barley Soup
SERVINGS6servings
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COOK TIME8-10mins. |
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READY IN |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms to cover, set aside.
- In a large soup pot, saute beef in 1 Tablespoon oil until browned, 5 to 7 minutes, remove from pan.
- In the same pot, with the other Tablespoon of oil, cook your carrots, onions, leeks, celery and baby bella mushrooms until just browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in barley and thyme and cook for another minute.
- Add the beef broth.
- Drain dried mushrooms in a sieve, and add that liquid also to the pot.
- Chop the mushrooms until fine, and add those.
- Toss in the bay leaves.
- Simmer until meat is tender and barley cooked (about an hour for the beef tenders, and longer for the stew meat).
- A little while before serving pour in the wine, and heat again.
- Add kosher salt and ground pepper to taste. This can be made 2 or 3 days in advance — it will taste even better if made ahead.
Last night the Sisters had one of their most favorite comfort food meals. Old fashioned plain roast chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. That left us with ten chicken livers that I intended to sauté and add to today’s lunch for those who particularly enjoy them. But I wasn’t able to get to them in time. As I stood in the kitchen wondering what to do, our lace-making Sister came in to pack up a snack for seven or eight fellow lace-makers having their monthly Lace Makers Day tomorrow. As she prepared her fruit, cheese and crackers I had a sudden thought: “How would the ladies like a little liver pate for something different?” “Great idea” was her response and within twelve minutes she had whipped up her favorite pate recipe. One of the easiest (as well as tastiest) I have ever come across. Here it is in case you’d like to give it a try.
Chicken Liver Pate
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Chicken Liver Pate
SERVINGS6servings
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Instructions
- Cook liver and onion with 1/4 cup butter until soft.
- Blend in food processor.
- Add remaining ingredients and turn into dish.
- Cover and chill.
The cold weather is really upon us. We have a crusty covering of snow and the wind is blowing in off the bay right across the common. I love the cold and all the great food that goes with it. I recently had the challenge of feeding a construction crew at a mountain site and it was really cold up there, so I wanted to give them hot lunches or at least hot soup. The challenge was that the cooking facilities were a distance away, and I needed to transport hot soup to a really cold place. I wrapped a big pot in a blanket in a cooler with two big rocks heated in the oven on either side. It worked — it was almost too hot to eat! And the grilled ham and cheese sandwiches we put in there also stayed warm. The crew was very happy! My recipe today is the corn chowder I served on the mountain. It’s enough for a crowd of 12 hungry men.
Mountain Corn Chowder
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Mountain Corn Chowder
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Instructions
- In a large pot, cook sausage, breaking up with a spoon until chunky and brown.
- Remove from pot to a paper towel-lined plate or pan.
- Cook onions in the sausage fat left behind in the pot until almost translucent, then add thyme and cook a couple of minutes longer.
- Add potatoes and vegetable stock and cook until potatoes are just tender.
- Add drained canned corn and creamed corn and browned sausage.
- Add milk to desired thickness.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Heat thoroughly but do not boil.
- Enjoy!
Every Saturday we gather as a community to work for the morning, caring for the Community buildings and grounds — cleaning the church, cooking in the kitchen, mowing, raking, working on various building and maintenance projects. It’s a good time of fellowship and work. These past two Saturdays we had all-day affairs which we called Oktoberfest — winterizing gardens, pruning, transplanting, and harvesting the last of the vegetables and fruit. The first Saturday was a classic Autumn day, just the way I like it — a little cool, but sun-shiny — that special sparkle that comes in October with the change in the angle of the sun. We all came together to eat lunch and dinner in our refectory. I planned the meals to reflect Oktoberfest traditions; roast pork with apple and onions, German potato salad, braised red cabbage, but I also wanted to include something not so traditional — butternut squash soup, which speaks more to me about autumn than anything else. We made the soup in the big tilting skillet since it was for 250 — using many pounds of squash, onions, and apples and I must say it was delicious! I’ve reduced it down here so that you can enjoy it, too.
Butternut Squash Soup
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Butternut Squash Soup
SERVINGS6servings
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COOK TIME30-40mins. |
PREP TIME |
READY IN |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large stock pot, add onions and thyme, and sauté until onions are tender. Stir occasionally.
- Add squash, apples, and stock to pot.
- Cook over low heat until squash and apples are very tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth, adding apple cider, and enough stock to make the soup slightly thick.
- Pour soup back into pot, reheat, and add salt and pepper to taste.
One of the things I most look forward to early every morning is seeing the young Sisters come back from the garden with their overflowing crates of freshly picked vegetables… an absolutely gorgeous sight! As they sort them out before taking them into the convent kitchen I look to see what has come in today- chard, beets, golden onions, tomatoes, eggplant, big bunches of basil, lots of green beans and of course as always, an abundance of zucchini and yellow squash.
Summer squash is perhaps the most prolific and versatile of all vegetables. You can count on it to faithfully keep producing all season long and there is no end to the many ways in which it can be cooked and enjoyed
Both are great sautéed, roasted or grilled. Yellow squash, when simply steamed, mashed and seasoned with a little butter, onion salt and pepper can be mouthwatering.
For something with a little more zest simmer it into a tasty ratatouille with green peppers, onions and tomatoes – always a favorite!
But there is still another way that is excellent but often overlooked and that is fritters – these crispy little patties are similar to potato latkes but much lighter – simple to make, they are perfect for a light lunch or a side dish with dinner. I think they are fantastic! Try them and see if you don’t agree.
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Zucchini Fritters
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix together and drop by tablespoons into a fry pan of hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides.
- If desired serve with a dollop of sour cream.
