Hoffman Homestead

Crayons and Watercolor!

I've been a big slacker when it comes to art.  Weird considering it's one of my favorite things.  Well we had art day today.  We did one of my favorite simple art projects, crayons and watercolor.  

I used this picture as a cover to my recipe binder.

First you create a scene in crayon.  Color firmly, it makes a better picture.  I did an cool underwater scene way back when I was little.  A#3 and A#2 did a combo underwater/outspace scene and A#1 of course drew a computer.  A#4 tried to eat a crayon.  By the way, white crayon is super fun.  The picture appears in the second step.

In case you can't tell, this is a picture of a meteor hitting the ocean killing lots of fish.  Boys.

Once your crayon scene is complete, choose a background watercolor and paint the whole page over the crayon.  Let dry and display.

A#3 didn't quite get the whole "paint the whole page" thing.  Oh well, it's his art.

A#2 got distracted and didn't finish painting.

A#1 got the idea :-)

And here is mine.

We'll start the bidding at $100.  Any takers?

Toscana Soup and Sausage in a Pinch

The smells coming from the kitchen are almost too much to take.

• 1 lb bulk pork sausage (pasture raised if you can get it, otherwise make your own sausage.  Recipe below.)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 qts chicken stock
• 3-4 medium potatoes, cubed into 1/2" bites
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped roughly
• 1/2 fresh cream

In a large saucepan/small stockpot, melt butter and brown sausage.  Add onions and garlic and saute until soft.

Add stock and potatoes.  Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 mins.  Add kale and cream and heat through.

Sausage in a Pinch (Spicy Italian)

Sausage isn't something I normally keep on hand and I haven't found any pasture raised sausage here so I make this instead.

• 1 lbs ground meat (I've used turkey and beef)
• 1/4 cup red wine (use broth if you don't want to use alcohol)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 clove, minced
• 1 tsp ground pepper (less if you want less spice)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (less if you want less spice)
• 1 tbsp fennel
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

Either mix all the spices into the meat in a bowl or you can mix it as you are sauteing the meat.

Organic Smorganic

Grrr!  This is what happens when I'm in a rush at the grocery store.  I grab something assuming it's good and it's so not good.  Usually I make my own chicken stock (seriously, it's not that hard) at least once a week.  And beef stock occasionally.  I try to make lots and keep the extra in the freezer, but freezer space is getting limited so I thought I'd get a little of the store bought stuff just in case I run out.  It happens often with 5 boys who all love a good cup of stock.

"Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth."  Sounds good, right.  And this, "All natural, NO MSG."  Actually that should have caught my attention.  Anytime something claims to be "all natural" chances are it's not.  And yes, I know when something says "free range" there is a good chance it's not really.

In my rush, I did not read the ingredients.  My bad.  Organic processed food is still processed food.

Here is what the ingredients say:

Actually there are only a couple things that really stick out.  The list is long but it has a lot of veggies.  The first is only 4th on the list, organic chicken flavor.  It's actually listed twice so they must use 2 different kinds of organic chicken flavor.  Basically flavor is their way of saying, "this has too many ingredients and a bunch of crap you really don't want to know."  Second, it contains wheat.  What the heck?  Why does chicken broth need wheat?  Now I'm really not happy.

I think I need to learn how to can.  I'll still try to keep fresh stock on hand, but it would be nice to have a back up that I know is safe.

Ok, I think I'm done venting now.

Want to know how to make stock?  The Nourished Kitchen has some great recipes.

Chicken Stock using a left over carcass

Chicken Broth using a whole chicken

Beef Stock

I have a crockpot full of beef stock stewing as we speak.  It makes the house smell so good!

Ranch Dressing

You ask, "Why make Ranch dressing when I can just buy a bottle at the store?"

Have you ever read the ingredients label on Ranch dressing.  Eek!  Nasty and no thank you.

My childhood favorite dipping sauce, Hidden Valley Ranch contains the following:

Soybean Oil, Water, Egg Yolk, Sugar, Salt, Cultured Nonfat Buttermilk, Natural Flavors (Soy), Spices. Less than 1% of Dried Garlic, Dried Onion, Vinegar, Phosphoric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Modified Food Starch, Monosodium Glutamate, Artificial Flavors, Disodium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid and Calcium Disodium EDTA as Preservatives, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate.

Yuck.

Honestly, making your own is really not that hard.  The hardest part is cleaning the blender/food processor when your done.  But homemade Ranch dressing tastes so good, it's worth it.  Psst, it's cheaper too!

You'll need the following:

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 kefir, piima, buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream (sour cream or yogurt makes a great thick dipping sauce) most any cultured milk product will do

2 scallions, chopped

1 small shallot, chopped 

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp dill, fresh

1 tbsp parsley, fresh

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Place everything in the blender/food processor except the olive oil.  Whirl around until very well blended.  While the blender is still on, slowly drizzle the olive oil in a thin stream.  The oil will emulsify it to a yummy creation.

 

Chili Relleno with Shrimp and Green Rice

I'm feelin' a little bit spicy tonight, woow!  

One of the foods I desperately miss is Chili Relleno.  It seems most restaurants like to batter fry these yummy peppers, bleh!  I think they taste just as good if not better without the batter.

I'll be serving this spicy treat to my sweetie tonight on top of some yummy Green Rice.  The stuffing was so good, I had to keep myself from just eating it (luckily there was enough left over for me to have a pre-meal snack).  This is also another great way to sneak in some veggies.  While I'm sure the kiddos won't eat the peppers, they'll love the rice/shrimp mixture.  Just don't tell them they are eating spinach!

Chili Relleno

6 poblano peppers

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp cumin seed

4 tbsp butter

1/2 lb shrimp, shelled, deveined with tails removed

1 lime, zested and juiced

1 cup of green rice (see below)

1/2 tsp ground corriander

1/2 tsp chili powder (chipotle chili powder if you want an extra zing)

1 tsp oregano

2 tomatoes, chopped

4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/2 bunch of cilantro, stems removed and leaves chopped

Roast peppers in the oven on broil setting until skin blisters.  You can cover the peppers with foil or seran wrap and then peel the skin off or just leave the skin on for a charred look.  Slice the peppers down one side and scoop out the seeds.  Arrange in a 13x9" baking dish.

For the stuffing, in a skillet melt the butter.  Add cumin seeds and toast for about 2 minutes.  Add chopped onions and saute until translucent.  Add the shrimp and cook through.  Remove from heat and add lime juice, rice, corriander, oregano, lime zest, tomato and cilantro.  Mix thoroughly.

Heat oven to 350F.  Scoop mixture into peppers really stuffing them to overflowing.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is melted.  Serve on top of green rice.

 

Green Rice

2 tbsp butter

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups white rice 

1/2 cup cilantro

1/2 lb spinach

4 green onions

1 lime, zested and juiced

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Add rice and stir, letting the rice brown just a little.  Add stock and cook until water evaporates (around 12 minutes).

While rice is cooking, add cilantro, spinach, green onions, lime juice and zest to a food processor and process until smooth.  Add a little stock if needed.

Stir green paste into rice during the last few minutes of cook time.

Lacto...ferma...what???

Lacto-fermentation.  It's my new obsession.  I love looking down the produce aisle and thinking, "What can I ferment today?"  As I was picking up a bottle of apple cider vinegar (which has nothing to do with lacto-fermentation), I spied a jar of pickled cauliflower and thought, "Wow, I bet that will taste awesome!"  So I picked up a couple heads of cauliflower, one to eat and one to ferment.  Unlike pickling, lacto-fermenting actually makes veggies better for you by adding probiotics, they're more easily digestible and actually increase the vitamin content.  And they taste good to boot.  Woohoo!

Ingredients

• 1 small head of cauliflower
• herbs and spices to taste (I used garlic and jalapenos)
• 2 tbsp sea salt, divided
• 8 tbsp whey, divided
• filtered water
• 2 quart sized mason jars

I cut the cauliflower into medium to smallish sized florets and even cut up the stem, removing any woody parts.  Stuff as much as you can into 2 quart sized mason jars along with any pickling spices you prefer (parsley, peppercorns, garlic, coriander, dill) leaving about 1" of space at the top.  I also put in a few slices of peppers to add a little kick.  Add 1 tbsp sea salt, 4 tbsp whey (you can easily get whey by dripping yogurt) in each jar and cover with filtered water.  Cover tightly and place in a warm spot for about 4 days or up to a week.

Crack open the jar, it should fizzle and smell good.  If it doesn't smell good, don't eat it, haha!  The fizzle is the best part.  Like a party in your mouth!  Pictured next to the cauliflower is a jar of pea pods, green beans and a mix of green beans and red bell pepper.

These should keep in the fridge or cellar for a few months but I doubt they stay around that long.  I almost ate a whole jar yesterday!

From Bad to Good

I was looking through Allrecipes.com and came across a recipe for "Balsamic Chicken with White Beans and Spinach" which peaked my interest.  After looking through the ingredients, I realized not everyone may know how to make an ok recipe into an awesome recipe.  A great way to improve your eating habits is to buy individual ingredients, ie no Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup.  Know exactly what you are eating.

The recipe as is calls for the following ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
• 1 (15 ounce) can white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained
• 1 (7 ounce) bag fresh baby spinach

Not too bad, actually.  Olive oil is good, though since it is used to brown the chicken I would rather use butter (pure lard without any hydrogenated oils, ghee, even bacon fat) which is better for cooking.  Extra virgin olive oil is best to be added after a food is cooked.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, good if you choose organic pasture raised chicken (fresh from a local farm if you can).  Why?  Because they are actually better for you.  Pastured raised chickens have an ideal Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio and contain beta carotene and CLA.  A great article about pasture raised chicken can be found here: http://almostfit.com/2008/08/13/demystifying-chicken-labels-from-organic-to-all-natural/

Next, garlic, great!  I might actually add more because you can never have too much garlic, mmmm.  Balsamic vinegar, thumbs up.  

Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, big thumbs down.  In fact, it's the one thing in this recipe that makes it a bad meal.  It fails on many accounts.  I actually stopped buying it a long time ago simply to save money by making it myself.  Little did I know at the time that I was making a good health choice.  Here is the list of what you will find in their "Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup": water, mushrooms, modified food starch, cream, corn starch, vegetable oil (corn, cottonseed or partially hydrogenated soy oil), wheat flour, sugar, salt, whey protein concentrate, potassium chloride, spice extracts, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylite, maltodextrin, dehydrated garlic, mushroom powder and calcium lactate.

How many of those ingredients do you actually recognize as real food?  Not many.  The fact that it's labeled "Healthy Request" makes me laugh.  Did you know cream of mushroom soup is extremely easy to make, is way cheaper, way healthier and tastes so much better than the canned stuff?  My recipe for it is here: Cream of Whatever Soup  It can be made gluten free or gluten full.

Ok, on to the next ingredient, 1 can white kidney beans.  Not bad.  I do prefer to soak and cook my own beans but I also realize that takes planning and time.  If you are going to used the canned stuff, check the label and make sure the only ingredients are beans, water and maybe salt.

Lastly, 1 bag of fresh baby spinach.  Awesome, they ask for fresh.  Of course to make it even better, go organic.  

Now to give it a go.  James and the boys I already know won't like it because they don't like anything with vinegar.  Weirdos.  I love balsamic vinegar.