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It’s early May in the Mid-Atlantic.  We’ve had an unusual winter that has caused a slow start in the growing season here in the Garden State.  While my weekly trip to the Collingswood Farmers’ Market had less variety than I hoped for I still filled the back of my car and had many delightful meals from the early vegetables.

Seasonal is the key concept here.  While all of the farmers would love to sell us everything we dream of… if we want NJ Fresh produce (and not southern US) we’re going to have to be patient. Corn, field grown tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant will appear, but much later in the summer.

According to information provided by seasonalfoodguide.org in EARLY MAY (with a normal Spring warmup) we can expect to find: arugula, ASPARAGUS, chard, chives, garlic scapes, green onions, mushrooms, parsnips, radishes, rhubarb, and spinach.  In LATE MAY we can add lettuces, peas, and strawberries to the list.

Last week we were welcomed to the market with loads of asparagus!

Little story here.  My father was one of eight children born very close together.  He was born in 1925.  Long time ago.  Periodically my father and chosen sibling(s) were sent to stay with their grandmother.  She was a strong but tiny woman.  She grew much of her own food and cooked it all herself.  As my father (and siblings) was fond of telling us….when a vegetable was in season that was what you ate.  So if corn was in season you had corn fritters, corn on the cob, corn bread….you get the picture.

So…in honor of my great grandmother.  Asparagus!

Asparagus, Mushroom, and Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:
8 ounces of skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/4 tsp. salt.
1 tsp. cornstarch

4 baby bella mushrooms
bunch of asparagus
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 tsps. vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsps. corn starch
2 tsps. water

Directions:
1.  Cut the chicken into 2 x 1/4 inch slices.  In a bowl, mix the salt and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.  Stir in the chicken.  Set aside.  This can be done in the morning and refrigerated until ready for dinner.  Be sure to pull the chicken out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before using in the stir fry.

2.  Cut off and discard the stems from the mushrooms.  Cut into 1/2 inch strips.

3.  Break of cut off the tough end of the asparagus spears.  (The asparagus I used was extremely thin.  If you do not have thin asparagus you can slice the asparagus diagonally into 2-inch pieces).

4.  In a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons water and two teaspoons cornstarch.

5.  Line up all your ingredients so they are readily available for quick use.  Stir fries are quick!

6. Heat a wok or large frying pan (non-stick in fine) over high heat.  Add the vegetable oil and chicken and cook and stir until the chicken turns white, about 3 minutes.  Remove chicken to another bowl.

7.  Add the garlic (you will remove the cloves of garlic before serving), mushrooms, and asparagus and stir fry for about 2 minutes (until the asparagus is the crispness you like).

8. Put the chicken back into the wok or large frying pan.  Add the chicken broth. Cover and cook for 1 minute.

9. Stir in the cornstarch mixture.  Cook and stir until thickened.

10.  Add the soy sauce and stir fry for about 30 seconds.

11.  Remove the garlic cloves.  Put the chicken and vegetables  in a bowl or platter, serve, and eat.

 

 

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:
bunch of asparagus
olive oil
salt
grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Cut (or break off) the tough ends of the asparagus.
2. Soak asparagus in water for about 30 minutes, then rinse, and drain in a colander.
3.  Line up your asparagus spears on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet.

4.  Spring with olive oil.
5.  Put in the tray in the oven and roast the asparagus about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Watch their progress and decide how crispy you want your spears.
6.  Take tray out of the oven.  Put spears on a plate.  Sprinkle with salt and grated parmesan cheese. Serve.

 

 

Braised Asparagus

Ingredients:
bunch of asparagus
butter
water
salt

Directions:
1. Cut (or break off) the tough ends of the asparagus.
2. Soak asparagus in water for about 30 minutes, then rinse, and drain in a colander.
3.  Melt a small pat of butter in a skillet.  Put cleaned asparagus in the melted butter in the pan and allow to cook for about 2 minutes.

4.  Drop another 2 tablespoons of butter into the pan with the asparagus.  Add 1/2 cup water to the pan.  Put on a lid.

Let cook with a lid for about 10 to 15 minutes.  You will see steam coming out of the pan.  When you can clearly smell asparagus (don’t let it burn),,,remove the lid.  Stick a fork in one of the asparagus spears.  It should go in easily.  Lower or turn off the heat under the pan and let some of the liquid boil off.  Serve.

Where in the market?
asparagus purchased from Les Viereck Farm, Springdale Farm, A.T. Buzby Farm
chicken breast purchased from Hillacres Pride
mushrooms purchased from Davidson’s Exotic Mushrooms

 

And any leftover asparagus can be added to a quiche or omelet.  My great grandmother would be proud!

Farm fresh produce is wonderful if we have the patience to wait for it to come in its own time.  Some years the strawberries are early and sweet….and some years the broccoli is late and small.  Waiting is all.

 

” Earth has to be ground up before the food can grow.”

-Sigrid Undset, from KRISTIN LAVRANSDATTER

Those that follow this blog in any way know that Collingswood Farmers’ Market is my food source from the beginning of May until the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  Every Saturday morning, regardless of the weather, I head over to see what’s new and exciting. I drive the fifteen minutes to get my weekly supplies.  The only groceries I buy from an actual supermarket are Greek yogurt and milk.

After a long, strange winter…extended bitter cold…three Nor’easters in two weeks…snow in December and snow in April…the first day of the market is nearly here.  I will gather my reusable bags.  I will bring my collapsible wagon up from the basement and put it in my car.  I will get up before seven on Saturday mornings to get to the market by the ringing of the opening bell.  And I will delight in all the wonderful foods and crops laid out for purchase.

My daughters and I go to the market together to shop for our respective families.  We meet there.  More room in our vehicles for our prizes.

As this winter has been unusually hard and the Spring has been unusually cold, I will look for spring fruits and vegetables and will be surprised to find much or any.  Perhaps asparagus.  A girl can dream.  Not much chance of strawberries.  Soon I know.

But the market has so much more to offer.  There is music.  There are freshly made quesadillas.  There are apple cider donuts.  There are pies.  Coffee.  Breads.  Popcorn.  Grass fed and pasture raised bison, beef, pork, lamb, chicken.  And more.

I will start at one end, like always, and stroll the path between displays.  I will be delighted by all the different items on offer.  Particularly, my husband is looking forward to Wild Flour Bakery’s oatmeal raisin cookies and I am looking forward to their sour dough bread (makes the best grilled cheese).  Oh, and those little knot rolls and bagels from Amber Grain.

And if the Constellation Collective ladies are there…who knows what I might bring home…quiche, biscuits, cookies?

I do hope Villa Barone restaurant will be there selling their pasta, sauces, and fresh mozzarella cheese.  I’ve waited all winter!

Maybe Les Viereck (or Springdale, or A.T. Buzby or Fruitwood Farms) will have asparagus.  I’ve been known to buy it from more than one farmer!  I will definitely buy eggs from DanLynn Organic (those little green chicken eggs  that nestle with the brown ones are especially delicious).

This year my husband has asked for some apple wood from Schober’s orchard.  No apples or peaches yet…but beautiful wood.  He wants to use it in his smoker.  And I’ll have to get some of their Apple Butter Barbecue Sauce.

Mushrooms!!! I can’t wait! Davidson’s Exotic Mushrooms are fresh and so delicious and the varieties are definitely exotic.

I’m hoping for micro-greens too.  Indogrow Farms offers the freshest and tastiest green.  Some to put on a sandwich would help us all to welcome Spring.

There will be plants aplenty.  The farmers bring their extra plants….tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and herbs….lots of beautiful herbs! Available at Springdale, A.T. Buzby, Hymer, Savoie, Formisano, DanLynn.

I am hoping for asparagus and I am hoping for strawberries.  I’m not sure either will be ready for sale yet.  But what I would love is to find some beautiful spring lettuce.  I have a few places to look…Springdale, Flaim, Savoie, DanLynn, Formisano.  Lettuce.  Sweet, tender, Spring lettuce.

If I am lucky enough to find some beautiful new lettuce, I’ve already made a fresh buttermilk and fresh herbs dressing.  Just a light touch for a light salad.

Ingredients:

about ten fresh basil leaves
about a tablespoon of fresh dill fronds (the wispy things, pulled off the stem)
about a tablespoon of snipped chives
about six parsley leaves.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (the juice of a medium lemon)
1/2 teaspoon of coarse Kosher salt.

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a jar with a lid.  Shake.  Refrigerate.

One of the biggest pleasures of shopping the market  is shopping seasonally.  No corn this week.  No field tomatoes.  No blueberries.  But in their time all of our favorites will be at the market.  I can’t wait.

 

 

*Title is taken from a quote by Lyndon B. Johnson from his inauguration speech.

 

A few years ago my husband cracked the code with regard to grilling.  Pay attention!  That was it.  He realized that if you pay attention while grilling, the meat doesn’t burn on the outside while remaining raw on the inside.  Simple.  Pay attention.

Because of his new found technique we enjoyed a few summers of delicious chops, chicken, steaks, and burgers.

Last year he bought an apparatus that is added to the grill that allows for slow cooking and some smoking.  Delicious!  The combination of paying attention and a new grill with attachments made for some very delicious food!

So.  This year he decided that he wanted a smoker.  A real designated smoker.  Birthday is fast approaching.  What does one get the man who has everything?  A smoker.  Of course.

Last weekend was a beautiful weekend here.  The weather was perfect to do the first “smoke”. Pork.  Boneless Boston butt.

So in a few photos here is the roast which became our first smoke.  As you see.  Perfect.  Beautiful bark.  Moist.  Delicious!

But here’s the rub.  No pun intended.  Because we are just two in our giant empty nest, I buy small hunks of meat (I buy my meats from a company named Hillacres Pride, Landsdowne, PA.  Grass fed and pasture raised…always wonderful)!  While the pile of pulled pork was more than we could finish at one sitting, it was not enough to provide for another complete meal. What to do?

Hash!

Hash is all about the leftovers.

Thus was born Smoked Boston Butt Pulled Pork Hash (for two).

Ingredients:

1 small onion, or 1 leek, or 1medium shallot, diced small.  (I used a leek)
2 medium mushrooms, diced
2 medium or 4 small potatoes, cut into cubes
butter
1 to 2 cups of leftover smoked Boston butt, cut into cubes to match the potatoes.

Directions:

1.  Peel and cut the potatoes and steam them until a knife goes in, but not all the way.  They will cook more in the skillet with the meat and vegetables.
2. Melt butter in a skillet and start the onion sautéing.  Add the mushrooms.  Stir and cook over medium heat.
3. Toss in potatoes and start to brown them on the outside.
4. Toss in the leftover meat.
5. Stir all the ingredients.  At this point you could put a lid on your skillet and leave the hash for 30 or so minutes (I had to to wait for my husband to be ready to sit down..he was putting something together for our grandson’s birthday…shhh).
6. If you’ve paused the cooking, turn the burner back on to medium, take off the lid, and continue frying and stirring until the potatoes are evenly browned, crisp on the outside, soft in the center.

Traditionally hash is served with a nice runny fried or poached egg.  My husband doesn’t much care for eggs in general and really doesn’t like fried or poached eggs at all.  With a nod toward traditional hash, he suggested some scramble eggs on the side.  Which worked just fine!

The only downside to this recipe is one needs some LEFTOVER smoked Boston butt pulled pork.  And that’s not something easily obtained at the local supermarket!  The smoked/grilled meat added something extra and truly delicious.  Maybe throw an extra steak or chop on specifically for hash.  Delicious!

 

My husband likes chicken.  Most people do.  And, like most people, he likes his chicken with a little breading and crunch.  Chicken is fast food.  Make it at home from quality ingredients and it’s the best!

I often make boneless chicken breasts in a similar fashion to these but I pound them out to make them thinner.  This recipe uses boneless chicken breasts but they are not pounded thinner.

Husband loves the chicken fingers plain and he dips them in BBQ sauce.  He also likes chicken parm.  Again, who doesn’t.  So I tried a simply version and he loved that too.  (See variations at the end of the directions).

This is very, very easy to prepare (even on a weeknight) and is very easy to modify to your family’s taste.

Ingredients:

This recipe uses one package of chicken and is enough for two or three.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast (or thighs if you prefer)
honey mustard
mayonnaise
seasoned Panko and bread crumbs, mixed (or one or the other with your favorite seasoning…an Italian blend of spices works very well.  Also I like to use a little panko because it is crunchier than breadcrumbs).

Directions:

1. Rinse and dry the chicken.
2. With a knife or kitchen scissors (I prefer scissors), cut the chicken breast lengthwise.
   

   
3. For one package of  chicken (about 3 pieces) spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey mustard and 2 to 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise into a plastic bag.  Drop the chicken into the bag.  Carefully squeeze the bag until all the chicken is coated.  Put the bag with the chicken,  mustard, and mayonnaise aside for it to marinate.  Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Pour a cup or so of the panko/bread crumbs that have been mixed with spices (you can buy an Italian bread crumbs or panko that is already mixed) onto a paper plate.  (It is nice to be able to throw the plate away and not worry about contamination or washing up).
5. After 10 to 15 minutes of marinating, take the chicken, one piece at a time, and coat it with the panko/bread crumb mixture.
   

   
   

   
6. Place the marinated and coated chicken on a rimmed baking sheet covered with aluminum foil.
7. Place the tray with chicken in a 375 degree oven for about 25 to 35 minutes.  Check the chicken after 20 minutes to be sure it is getting done.  Look for the coating to be slightly browned. 

VARIATION…when the chicken is done, spoon your favorite tomato sauce over it and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Put back in the oven to just melt the cheese.  Serve with pasta or on a roll for a chicken parm sandwich!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is the first day of Spring.  And I am waiting for the 4th Nor’easter snowstorm in as many weeks.  Maybe less.  Today, as the first day of Spring, is also Big Bird’s birthday.  When my daughters were children we would celebrate with a little party for the big yellow guy.  Cake.  Maybe ice cream. Gardening themed party favors.  The works.

My younger daughter had a stuffed Bird who talked when his string was pulled.  Anyone born in the mid-80s will remember.  Now that he is over thirty (but really he simply is always six years old on his birthday) he is incoherent when his string is pulled.  But he is totally vintage.  My older grandson says we should not pull the string any more.  I agree.

This morning snow was forecast (a bit less than we are getting right now) and I was going to sit with both grandsons while their mother went out for just a bit.  So, right after breakfast, I decided to try this simple banana muffin recipe that bragged about no clean-up.  No clean up because the batter was mixed IN A ZIPPERED PLASTIC BAG!

As soon as I came downstairs for breakfast, I started to pre-heat my oven.  375 degrees Fahrenheit.  I had plenty of time before I had to go as it was a little after six.

After breakfast I set to work. The directions were that I was to mix everything in the bag and not dirty any other dishes.  That was a little too crazy for even me…eggs…oil…I needed to set out my ingredients for easy dumping INTO THE BAG.

So here we go…

Makes a couple more than a dozen.

Ingredients:

3 overripe medium bananas
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

When measuring all ingredients place conveniently on the work surface in their respective bowls:
2. Measure 1 cup of sugar into a bowl or cup.
3. Measure 1 cup of flour into a bowl or cup.  Add salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon to the flour.  Stir lightly.
4. Break two eggs into a bowl or cup and beat lightly.  Add the vanilla.
5. Measure 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil into a cup.

Next:
6.  Put the peeled bananas into the bag and smash with your hands.  Do not zip the bag shut but be careful not to squeeze the bananas out.

7.  Add the eggs.  Seal the bag and shake and squeeze until combined.
8.  Add the sugar.  Seal and squeeze until combined.
9. Dump the flour mixture.  Seal and squeeze until combined.
10.  Add the oiled shake and squeeze until combined.

Put aluminum paper cupcake liners into a muffin tin.

Snip one corner off the bottom of the bag.  Make the hole small as the batter is very runny.  Pinch the bag above the corner between muffins.

Bake 20 minutes.

Because the muffins were for a birthday, we chose to call them cupcakes and topped them with icing.  But I tasted one plain and it was delicious with a big mug of tea.  What else is there to do when it is snowing AGAIN!.

The squeezing the batter out of the bag and into the muffin cup is a bit tricky.  But easy to master and quite fun. (Little kiddos can help with the mixing and squeezing in the plastic bag…but an adult or older kiddo is needed for filling the muffin cups). This is an easy, moist, and tasty recipe.  Using the bag makes clean up a breeze.  No sticky mess.  ( I always use a bowl for my garbage…that also makes cleanup easier).

Start to finish 40 minutes.  Out the door with birthday cupcakes and a fluffy yellow friend who is a bit more worn than I remember…for a celebration that hopefully welcomes sunshine, flowers, and warmth.  Soon!

This is the last weekend of February and, while is was warm and sunny a couple of days last week, we are going to have a cold, rainy, dark weekend.  Perfect for a warming soup.

Mushroom barley soup.  A brilliant combination…but with a twist.  I don’t like the heaviness of the traditional beef broth in this soup, so I use chicken broth instead.  Homemade is best but a good quality purchased broth works fine.  If you want to go totally meatless, use a favorite homemade or purchased vegetable broth.

Ingredients:
carrots
celery
leek (or onion)
broth
water
mushrooms
barley
salt

 

Directions:

First put about a cup of pearled barley into a 2 cups of water.  The water should cover the barley by at least an inch.  The water is to soften the barley and to rinse it.  Often barley can get “slimy” but not if you soak it first.

Next cut up two or three carrots, two ribs of celery, and a leek (a small onion is a fine substitute here).  Saute the vegetables for three to five minutes in about three tablespoons of butter.  Just to get them soft.

Next add about a pound of cleaned and chopped mushrooms.  I remove the stems but really only the hard end of the root needs to be removed.  A variety of mushrooms is great but so is a pound of favorite mushrooms.  This is a great soup to use up all those extra mushrooms sitting in the refrigerator   Stir the vegetables and mushrooms around and let them saute for another minute or so.

Next pour in about 4 cups of broth and then add about 2 cups of water.  Any broth is acceptable.  Beef, chicken, vegetable.  I prefer chicken.  Chicken broth makes a lighter, buttery broth.  It’s all about what flavor is your favorite.

Stir the pot.  Completely.  On medium heat, bring the soup up to a boil.  Then put a lid on it and simmer on a very low setting for 3 to 4 hours.  If you have to leave the soup, leave the lid on, turn the heat off, and turn it on again when you return to it.  Stir it.

About a half hour before serving, taste for salt.  Salt to your preference.

This is a delicious and comforting soup served with a crusty bread and good butter or with a sharp cheddar cheese and crackers or with a favorite cheese melted over that good crusty bread.

And, as always, soup is better the next day!  You’ll be warmed for days!

 

My husband hails from New England. Braintree, Massachusetts to be precise.  He was born and raised a good Irish Roman Catholic boy.  Sadly, both of his parents passed away when he was in his early twenties.  He has a small box of photos and a few household things and his memories.

We are now in the season of Lent.  My husband is Roman Catholic.  I am Byzantine Catholic.  My family tradition is to not eat meat quite a few more days than was my husband’s tradition. But not meat on Friday.  That’s how we both were raised.  That’s what we remember.

In an effort to add to my Lenten meatless repertoire I asked my husband what dishes his mother made to feed her five children on Fridays…not just during Lent, but every Friday.

Fish cakes and beans.  The answer was swift and definite.

I used to prepare fish cakes years ago but somehow got out of the habit.  While it is a simple dish there are a number of steps to it.

Ingredients:
8 oz. (a cup) of cooked fish….like cod, flounder, salmon.
8 oz. (a cup) of cooked white potatoes.
1 tablespoon dried parsley.
2 tablespoons butter.
3 tablespoons cream or milk.
salt to taste.

Directions:
1. Steam the fish until flaky. About ten minutes once the water boils.
2. Peel, cut, and boil two medium to large white potatoes.
3.  Flake the steamed fish in a bowl.

4.  Once the potatoes are done so that a sharp knife easily pierces them, but they don’t completely crumble, drain, place in a bowl with butter, dried parsley, and a splash of cream or milk…about 3 tablespoons and smash.  Do not make super smooth mashed potatoes.  Your cakes simply won’t hold any kind of shape if your potatoes are too smooth and soft.

5.  Mix fish with potato mixture.

6.  Shape into patties.
7.  Dip the patties into breadcrumbs or panko.

8.  Melt butter in a frying pan.
9.  Place the fish cakes in the hot pan.

10.  At this point everything is cooked.  Let the patties fry for about 3 or 4 minutes on medium until a crust is formed.  Carefully flip over and crisp the other side for another 3 or four minutes. At this point, if dinner has to hold for a short while, the patties can go in a very low (300 degrees F) oven for 15 minutes or so.  The patties are soft and, even if they don’t stay in their shape…are completely delicious and a warming comfort food.

My husband likes his fish cakes served with baked beans.  He likes a lot of things served with baked beans.  Easy to do.  Easy to please.  I open a can of his favorite brand, squirt in some ketchup and mustard and put them in the oven to bake until they are hot and bubbly (about 30 minutes in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven).  I put the beans in the oven first…and then make the fish cakes.   But, if you are very pressed for time an open can of beans with ketchup and mustard and a little water heats up just fine in a pot on the stove.

We had this dinner for the first time in a very long time.  The cakes were delicious.  Crispy.  Buttery.  A very nice Friday night dinner for two.

My mother made chicken paprikash.  It was always a big deal because the preparation was complicated.  Easy, but complicated.  The cooking time was long.  And getting the dish from pot to table was complex.

I love this dish.  I alternately requested this or stuffed cabbage for my birthday dinner.  Now I alternately make this or stuffed cabbage for my birthday dinner.

My children like this dish as do my grandchildren.  My grandson calls it chicken with sauce.  Which is exactly what it is.

My mother used to make this with a dumpling.  I’ve made it with noodles and I’ve made it with rice.  I’ve even served with with gnocchi.  You can serve it with whatever you like as long as you pour lots of “sauce” on top.

My husband doesn’t like to deal with picking the meat off the chicken so I do that before serving.  It really is a lot easier to put a plate of chicken on the table.  And he enjoys his meal so much more when he can pile his chicken on his plate and pour lots of sauce on top.

So…in order to make this easier all the way around, (and it turns out, lighter in fat than the original).  I adapted my mother’s way of preparing it to a slow cooker.

Ingredients:
a whole chicken cut up or your favorite parts (I used a whole breast and three thighs)
1 large onion
paprika (sweet, not hot)
up to a stick of butter
8 ounces of sour cream

Directions:
1. Rough chop one large onion and spread it on the bottom of the slow cooker.

2.  Place the chicken on top of the onions.  This way neither the onions nor the chicken stick to the bottom of the insert.
3.  Sprinkle paprika on top of the chicken.  Cover it thoroughly.  Sprinkle with salt to taste.

4.  Dot the top of the chicken with butter.  For a whole chicken you can use a whole stick.
5.  Put the lid on the slow cooker.
6.  Set to cook for 8 hours on low.
7.  After eight hours, carefully take the chicken out of the slow cooker.  It will fall apart so be careful and be ready.

8.  Dump the sour cream into the crock pot with the onions and chicken juice.
9.  Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
(if you want a thicker sauce, take about a 1/2 cup of sauce in a cup or bowl and mix 1/2 to 1 teaspoon corn starch.  When mixed smooth, stir into sauce.

10.  Serve the chicken over rice, noodles, gnocchi,( why you could even serve it over toast!)…generously spoon the magic sauce on top.

An easy spin on a traditional dish.  Simple to throw together.  So delicious and so very comforting!

 

It’s snowing, again.  It is below freezing, again.  I need inner warmth.  I need noodles.

I don’t eat much pasta. Watching those carbs.  But there are times when nothing else will fill that hole.  Nothing else will satisfy.  Noodles please!

My husband has rules about noodles.  Essentially he doesn’t like “flat noodles”.  He likes very thin spaghetti and elbow macaroni.  That’s about it.  I usually oblige but today I craved…I needed…noodles and cottage cheese.  One can only make truly good noodles and cottage cheese with flat egg noodles.  Nothing else will do.

This is a dish that my mother made.  She learned from her mother.  And so on back down the line.  My mother often served this as a side dish.  I did too.  But with so much snow and so much very cold weather this is a perfect lunch by itself. There is something indulgent and satisfying about eating out of a big bowl.  This is also a dish children love.  Love.

A word before the recipe about an ingredient.  My mother made this dish as her mother did with dry curd cottage cheese.  I did too.  Up until a few years ago dry curd cottage cheese was easily found at grocery stores.  Now.  Nowhere.  You can make your own dry curd by dumping cottage cheese into a colander, rinsing it gently with water to get the excess “dairy” off it, and letting it drain for about an hour.  BUT….regular cottage cheese works just fine.  Not light or lite or low fat.  Full fat cottage cheese is required.

Ingredients:
Two cups of flat egg noodles
Large piece of good butter (I use unsalted) …about 3-4 tablespoons
1/2 to 3/4 cup of 4% cottage cheese
Dash of salt to taste

For browned bread crumb topping:
Two tablespoons good butter
3-4 tablespoons bread crumbs

Directions:
1.  Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.  (putting a wooden spoon across the pot will keep the pot from boiling over.  It will.  Honest.)
2.  While waiting for the noodles to boil make the browned bread crumbs by melting butter in a mall frying pan.  When the butter is melted drop in the bread crumbs and stir until brown.  Watch the bread crumbs don’t burn…they can go from bland to burned very quickly.

3.  Boil the noodles until they are soft enough to your taste (al dente does not work here).
4.  When noodles are done, drain the water off in a colander.  Put the hot drained noodles back into the hot pot in which they were cooked.
5.  Drop in the butter and cottage cheese and salt.  Allow to start melting (30 seconds to a minute).  Gently stir to mix.

6.  Pour noodle mixture into a serving bowl and top with browned bread crumbs.

Eat!  You’ll feel so warm inside and out! (These are also delicious in the Spring!)

This is a very simple dish that can easily be put together on a day when you’re too tired to cook and you’ll look like a champion!

First, preparing pork chops can be difficult.  Preparing them this way makes them tender and keeps them moist.  The recipe is for two pork chops but you can easily double or triple the amounts as long as you have a big enough dish.  Be sure to choose an oven safe dish with a lid.  All the preparations are done in the same dish.  This is a one dish oven dinner.

Ingredients:

2 bone-in pork chops (or bone-in smoked pork chops which I used for this post)

1 leek, cleaned and sliced

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise

2 tart apples, peeled and sliced

1 eight ounce can or box of low salt chicken broth
1 clove of peeled garlic ( or a generous pinch of granulated or powdered dry garlic)
salt

 

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
1. Choose an oven safe dish with a fitted lid.
2. Place the pork chops in the dish.
3. Place the cleaned and sliced leeks, apples, and sweet potatoes around the chops.

4.  Pour a cup of chicken broth into the dish.  Do not cover the chops with the broth.
5.  Season with salt and dried garlic.  Do not over season.   Remember there is salt in the chicken broth (even in the low salt variety).  If you’re using fresh garlic, peel one clove and place it in the pan alongside the meat. Discard the garlic clove when the or mash it in the sweet potatoes.
6.  Put a sheet of aluminum foil over the dish and then put the lid on the pan.  Scrunch up the foil all around the lid.  You do not want any of the moisture to escape.

7.  Put the lidded dish in the oven.
8.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes to 2 hours.  Check for doneness at 90 minutes.  The meat should easily come away from the bone and there should be some liquid left.  If not, put back in the oven, with the lid, for another 15 to 30 minutes.  (If the chops are very thick…an inch or more…bake for 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 hours in a 325 degree oven and add more broth at 90 minutes cooking time).

When the chops are done, put on a serving plate.  (The chops pictured here are smoked…they will be pink…they taste like ham.  Regular, unsmoked chops will be tan/brown when done).

Take the apples out of the baking dish and put in a bowl.  Mash with a fork….applesauce.  Side-dish number one!  

Take the sweet potatoes and leeks and put them in another bowl.  Top with a generous pat of butter and mash with a fork.  Side-dish number two!!  

Spoon the remaining juice from the baking dish over the chops on their serving dish.

Delicious moist pork chops.  Great dish for a fall or winter evening.  Easy!