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Posts tagged ‘spinach’

Mar 8

6 Comments

It’s A Comfort-Food-Farro Kind Of Day

Spring is here, no wait… it’s not, oh here it comes… Nope. Now it’s snowing. Don’t get me wrong:

I LOVE SNOW.

But I can see grass now. It’s over, I can’t go back, I’ve gone and done it. The potting shed is clean and the seeds are calling my name.

RKW_4449 Seeds
Ok, so it’s mud season; the fifth season (right after Winter; just before Spring)  Mud season is when we are thankful for all wheel drive and a high clearance vehicle, when I get to be a little crazy at the wheel, just to get up the mile long road we call a “driveway.” Mud season is when the dogs’ paws are caked with the newly emerged earth and their fur becomes the transporter for all that was outside to now reside inside. My neighbor tells me “You’re out numbered” (kids, dogs, cats, bird, bunny, chickens… oh and our exchange student’s fish-Fishy (guess who’s fish it will be in July?)) she advises to “Just let go.”

I think it will be my new mantra.

RKWeymuller Mud Season

This morning I practiced that mantra and put on slippers (dirt goes unnoticed better that way) and made emmer pancakes; a little comfort food for a cold damp day. I was surprised by the fact that breakfast, from egg-crackin’ to clean-up, took little more than 20 minutes. The aroma wafting from the griddle pulled my little sleepy heads out from under their covers and had them at the kitchen bar in no time. I had that Proud Mama moment of knowing that I’m providing a healthy, beginning of the day meal (that they will actually eat) for my active kids. Hopefully they’ll be satisfied until lunch.

Oh! Lunch! I plan the day from one meal to the next. Last night I tried something new; the farro boldly went where only basmati rice had been before…the rice maker. Yup, hoping it would transform our long stove top cooking times to that of a care free slow cooker experience. I am happy to report:  <<genius!>>  It worked! And today I have fresh farro for lunch, via my rice maker.  (Enter celebratory music and little happy dance that you really don’t want in your head).

RKW_4493 Farro, Goat Cheese, Kate and tomat salad

Spinach and Blue Bird Grain Farro Salad:
serves 2 for lunch

1 cup farro
3 cups washed baby organic spinach
A handful of sweet cheery tomatoes halved
1/4 cup goat cheese(Sunny Pine Farm)
dash of lemon pepper
pinch of salt

Stove top method:  Add the Farro to a medium pot with 3 cups or so of water and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn down heat to simmer for 45-50 minutes.When farro grains are plump, soft and still chewy remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
Or
Rice Maker method: I use a 1 cup grain to 1 cup liquid and set it to gaba (longer time but great for more nutrients) brown rice mode. But follow your rice makers directions for brown rice.

~Saute baby spinach with a little water and a dash of lemon pepper and a pinch of salt, until it wilts then remove from heat
~fill warmed bowl with farro
~crumble goat cheese onto the farro
~top with wilted baby spinach and halved tomatoes

Enjoy!

Head Shot Rachelle  Rachelle Weymuller @ Caramelize Life
“Making Life Sweeter Through Food, Travel and Community”

Feb 9

Bountiful blueberries
9 Comments

Blueberry~Beet Winter Salad

‘Florescent fuchsia’ would be a great name for this salad.  The sweet pink and purple juices of berries and beets brighten a winter meal and recall us to the tastes of summer.  And their florescent colors nearly scream healthy nutrients.

A little ode to the beauty of the beet… Often underestimated, the beet is many things—an early and hearty grower, edible from root to leaf, beautiful and versatile.  And if you believe that color content really does indicate vitamin content, then the beet is at the top of the list for nutritional value.

It takes winter for me to cultivate a desire for pickled items.  The palate matches the season in that sprightly pickled beets compliment winter main dishes, often heavy with starch or fats.  Beets from the summer garden were preserved for just such a salad at this time (canning recipe below).

2012 Garden Beats

2012 garden beets

The work involved with pickling beets is truly worth the effort.  The vegetable is good shredded raw on salads or roasted in the oven, however, the pickling process adds sugar and spice to the benefit of the beet.  I tried this recipe with oven roasted beets and it was good, but not nearly what it can be when the veggie is pickled.

Preserved, the beets in this pickling recipe are seasoned to perfection, through and through.  A jar can be pulled for topping salads, as a vegetable side for just about any meat dish, or eaten as a coveted appetizer.

DSCF3628

baby beets ~ perfect for salad greens

Bountiful blueberries

Rachelle and family gathered and froze bountiful blueberries 2012

2012 garden spinach

2012 garden spinach

~ Blueberry-Beet Winter Salad ~

1 large head spinach, washed and torn

1 pint jar pickled beets, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups blueberries

3/4 cup roasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup feta cheese (I use Sunny Pine Farm chèvre feta)

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 recipe Sherry Vinaigrette (optional, recipe below)

~NOTE:  If you are using pickled beets, I find a dressing unnecessary to this salad; alternatively, if you are roasting the beets, the sherry vinaigrette or another similar dressing is required.

~The presentation of this salad is best plated individually, so begin with beds of spinach.

~Combine chopped beets and blueberries in a bowl and set aside; roast walnuts and chop.

~Assemble salads by topping each spinach bed with approximately 1/2 cup beet and blueberry mixture; sprinkle with nuts and cheese; dress with vinaigrette or not as desired and serve.

Yield: about 6 servings

~ Sweet & Spicy Pickled Beets ~

10-12 medium sized beets, or 4 pounds

3 cups onions, sliced long and thin

3 sticks cinnamon, broken

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoons sea salt (to taste)

1 Tablespoon allspice, whole

1 teaspoon cloves, whole

2 1/2 cups cider vinegar

3 cups water

4 cayenne peppers, whole and preferably fresh

4 cloves garlic

~Wash beets and trim stems and roots to about 2 inches (this will allow easy skin removal); boil in water until tender, remove and drain; when cool enough to handle, remove peel and trim ends if necessary.

~Combine remaining ingredients, besides peppers and garlic, in a large sauce pot and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

~Add beets and simmer until heated throughout; remove cinnamon sticks.

~Using sanitary, hot pint jars, add one garlic clove and one cayenne pepper to each; pack beets into jars and ladle hot liquid over beets, leaving 1/4 inch headspace; remove air bubbles and adjust two-piece caps; process in boiling water canner for 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 pints

Sherry Vinaigrette

If canning or pickling doesn’t suit your fancy, simply roast the beets on 400 degrees for about 25 minutes and make up a sweet vinaigrette.  I love working with sherry as it seems to pick up flavor complexities in a wide variety of foods.  You may easily substitute other vinegars.

1 shallot, finely minced

1-2 cloves garlic to taste, finely minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup sherry vinegar

salt

pepper

~ Carefully sauté shallots in 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil until transparent and just beginning to brown; remove from heat and cool.

~Combine shallots, garlic, vinegar and mustard with whisk or food processor; emulsion is the key to a good vinaigrette, so proceed slowly with olive oil, pouring in a steady, small stream while mixing until smooth (it is far easier to use a food processor for this step); add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

The Beet as Food Coloring

One of the niftiest uses for beets is as a natural food coloring.  For those attempting to avoid synthetic food coloring (often containing unnatural or toxic chemicals),  the beet is the ticket.  Simply slice the root into chunks, cover with water, and simmer down the liquid into a thick, fuchsia sauce.

This natural food coloring is virtually tasteless and is great added to frostings or desert sauces on special occasions.  My daughter knows it well as her signature birthday cake coloring.

Love from our kitchen to yours!  Georgina @ Caramelize Life

2012 garden beets

2012 garden beets

Nov 13

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagne top shot 11-12 RKW
19 Comments

Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagne

We live the lives of busy Moms, friends, entrepreneurs, wives, community members…the list of hats grows long. So it is important that we use our time wisely while the kids are at school and the house is quiet by combining our get together time. Focusing on sharing and connecting, creating new recipes and learning from each other are all great ways to build lasting relationships.

We set up a plan to meet once a month and share new recipes, try each others favorite recipes and expand our regular “go to” menus for our families. Our goal is to prep and make a dinner for that night and then something to put away in the freezer or “put-up” in the pantry to be enjoyed in the future months as a tasty reminder of our day together in the kitchen.

We decide menus by what we have in our refrigerators. For me that is easy; a quick check, since I have just one. But Stew, she has four refrigerators I’m told so she always comes ready for a multitude of options. On our most recent get together, her car was packed and each time she pulled something from her bottomless box of goodies, like a magician, I was pleasantly surprised at what she emerged with: squash, spinach, fresh squeezed lemon juice, herbs picked that day a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I have to confess, Stew Dietz is not your ordinary super mom (a title I think all Moms carry in this day and age) like the rest of us but she is also a caterer extraordinaire so she has menu planning down to a science.

After taking stock of our potential ingredients, we decided the plan was to make a Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagne, Potato Leek Soup, Parsley Pesto and Apple Butter. These days in the kitchen are very productive. For the Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagne, Stew found inspiration from a Bon Appétit magazine but we didn’t have all the ingredients they called for and staying true to our creative spirit we improvised and tweaked their recipe to what worked for us:

Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna

10-12 Servings            9x13x3” pan

2#            Butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded & cut ¼ “slices
1#            Spinach
1               Large Yellow Onion,  diced small
1#            Fresh Mozzarella, grated or cut into small strips
16oz        Skim Ricotta
1c            Grated romano cheese
Zest from one lemon
4              Sage leaves, minced
1T            Fresh Rosemary leaves, minced
2T           Fresh Thyme leaves, minced
½ c         Fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Bechamel

¼ c            Unsalted butter
¼ c            Unbleached all-purpose flour
3c               Whole milk
2c              Half & half
¼ tsp       Fresh grated nutmeg
1                Bay leaf
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1#              Lasagna noodles
½ c            Parmesan

Toss sliced squash pieces with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Bake on sheet pans in preheated 400 oven until cooked, but not mushy, about 20 minutes.

In 10 qt stock pot heat water until boil and cook lasagna noodles until done.  Toss with a little extra virgin olive oil to keep from sticking and lay out on extra sheet pans, wax paper or parchment.

Heat 3T olive oil in 8 qt heavy bottom stock pot and saute onions until tender but not colored, about 8 minutes.  Add rosemary, fresh thyme & sage and cook adding salt & pepper to taste.  Add spinach in handfuls stirring it in until wilted.  Cook over high to finish wilting and help evaporate liquid (or drain in colander, reserving liquid for soup!)  Stir in lemon rind and fresh parsley.  Once cooled blend with ricotta & Romano set aside in a bowl for assembly.

In heavy bottomed 5qt pot melt butter over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and cook not letting it brown, about 2-3 minutes.  Slowly whisk in whole milk & half and half.  Add bay leaves & nutmeg. Slowly bring to boil and simmer stirring almost constantly until thickened, about 10-15 minutes depending on your heat. Season with salt and white pepper.  Pour through mesh strainer.

To Assemble:

In 9”x13” pan spread about 1/3c béchamel in the bottom of the pan.  Top with layer of lasagna noodles, butternut squash slices, Fresh mozzarella, spinach/ricotta mixture & ½ c béchamel.  Keep repeating for a total of 3 layers of “filling” ending with noodles/ last of béchamel and ½ c Parmesan.

Bake @ 375 for 45 minutes, turning to broil for additional 5 minutes.  Let rest before cutting and serving.

*Freezer Tip:

I usually cover the lasagne with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and write on the foil; What is inside, the date it was made, and date it should be eaten by as well as baking instructions, incase I am not the one making it for dinner. I also add a reminder to remove the plastic wrap beneath the foil.
Other ideas would be to add suggestions of what side dishes to pair with it.

Enjoy!

making life sweeter…from Rachelle @ Caramelizelife

Jun 11

DSCF3402
8 Comments

Bar-B-Q Star ~ Meat & Greens as Main Course

When your salad side dish recipes are exhausted, make that plethora of greens the main course.

Spring brings with it a renewed palate, ready for pure, light fare from the garden and farm.  This entree salad recipe hits the mark.

After heavier foods in the colder months, I enjoy the simplicity of a non-carb meal.  My body thanks me too.

Spinach “stars,” Crown S Ranch beef and delicious lime-cilantro dressing

I could name this recipe “wedding salad,” since it was one I had designed for our celebration.  It obviously went over well with guests at Spring Creek Ranch, since not a speck remained after our party.

Ah, the many joys of this salad.  I’ll begin with the beef: locally grown, organic grass-fed top sirloin or tenderloin from our friends at  Crown S Ranch.

Crown S Ranch beef, grilled medium~rare

The greens: picked fresh from the garden, spinach, lettuce, kale, chard or a combination all work well as the salad bed.

The dressing: the spike of citrus, garden flesh cilantro, black beans, corn and sweet peppers top the meat and greens perfectly.

An additional perk: this meal only takes about 1/2 hour to prepare.

Perk number two: the color and presentation are beautiful.

The Dressing: sweet peppers, lime, cilantro, olive oil, black beans and corn

~Meat and Greens Recipe~

1 lb. + Tenderloin or Top Sirloin

Big bunch of greens: lettuce, spinach and kale are my preferences for this salad

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup coursely chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

1/4 cup black beans

1/4 cup corn

1/4 cup sweet bell pepper, chopped in 1/4 inch pieces

1~ Trim meat and rub with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Grill meat on high heat, turning once.  Be careful not to let it get over done ~ the beef will keep cooking for a few minutes after it’s removed from the grill.  Set aside to cool.

2~ Combine all ingredients for dressing.  Add beans, corn and peppers to dressing to soak up flavors.

3~ Make a bed of greens for each plate.  Creating a pattern with your greens enhances presentation.

4~ Cut the meat just as thinly as possible and place over greens.

5~ Pour an ample portion of dressing-bean combo over each serving.  Finish with fresh cilantro if desired and serve.

Yeild: about 4 entree sized servings

Love from our kitchen to yours!  Georgina @ Caramelize Life

Stars of the Bar-B-Q

May 25

2012 garden spinach
13 Comments

Spring Start Salad ~ with Caramelized Balsamic Dressing, Roasted Nuts, Berries & Goat Cheese

Tough Greens Sweeten Up
!

Well, not exactly tough ~ but more hearty than the sweet lettuces of later spring.  The kale, beet greens and spinach called for in this recipe can be rather fibrous as adults, but more tender as babies.  So springs the recipe!

The spinach is currently exploding, so I’m using it in every meal.  This recipe is a favorite, loaded with the flavors of its dynamic, crowd pleasing, caramelized dressing.

Spinach, kale and beet greens, picked small as soon as you’re ready to thin, are a delectable treat. But they also hold their shape under a warm dressing very well. The slightly bitter taste of each adds to the complexity of flavors, which are plenty with the garlic, berry and honey content in the dressing.

Salt and a slight tang in the goat cheese tops the flavor combo…to the point that I’d love to have this salad as a main course regularly ~ if my family would agree.

The balsamic vinaigrette tends to wow guests. Sautéed garlic combines with honey, balsamic and dried fruit to caramelize into a thick, warm syrup.

Caramelizing honey, balsamic and olive oil requires a full boil.

I first tasted a version made by Julie Libby, former chef and now owner of our local book haven, Trail’s End Bookstore.  (Some of our favorite cookbooks from Trail’s End are featured on the righthand sidebar.)  I’ve modified the recipe with honey rather than sugar, added some dried berry options and expanded from spinach to a variety of tougher greens.

Healthy spring garlic ~ carefully roasted, the garlic in this recipe’s caramelized dressing works to enhance all other flavors.


~Caramelized Balsamic Dressing~

½ cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

½ cup dried cranberries, huckleberries or blueberries

1/2 cup honey

Salt and pepper to taste

1~ Sauté garlic in a small saucepan in 1 T olive oil until slightly browned and fragrant.

2~ Mix all other ingredients well and add to garlic on medium-high, stirring frequently.

3~Bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to a lively simmer, stirring constantly. Do not let boiling or stirring cease.  Allow to thicken until caramelized, about 5-7 minutes.

4~ Let cool for 10 minutes or until just warm and serve. Top each salad with prudent spoons of dressing, tossing lightly with each spoonful (it is very flavorful, so be careful:)

~ Use this dressing as soon as it is cool enough to pour and save the rest to reheat later.  It can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks and reheated for additional meals.

~Spring Start Salad~

Spinach, Kale, Beet Greens  (full sized salad bowl, filled)

½+ cup roasted almonds (or substitute walnuts or peacans)

½+ cup crumbled goat cheese

1~ Roast slivered or chopped nuts for 5 minutes or until just brown. Set aside to cool.

2~ Tear greens in ratio to your liking.  This recipe can be made in one bowl, but we recommend plating individually because of the warm dressing ~ the presentation is better and it holds shape in smaller portions. To prepare individual salads: make a bed of 1 ½ cups mixed greens on each plate.

3~ Drizzle ¼ cup warm dressing over top and toss~barely; top with 2 Tablespoons each, cheese and roasted nuts and serve.

A little sprinkling of each topping is all that’s needed for this salad of full bodied flavor.

NOTE:  This salad can be made all year long with standard spinach and kale as well. Try experimenting by substituting different roasted nuts or other tough greens to fit your family’s fancy.

Love from our Kitchen to Yours ~ Georgina @ Caramelize Life

If it’s not time to grow your own greens, local producer’s in our Methow Valley are easy to find at METHOW NET’S DIRECTORY, or look for organic goodness at your local farmer’s market.

Kale, like spinach, grows  quickly in cool spring weather.  If your garden is populated with kale, it can be used solely for this salad, or check out a different take on tough spring greens on Sassy Radish.  The Tuscan Kale Salad with Pecorino looks divine.

We love to use SUNNY PINE FARM’S Chèvre.  Not only do we love the families who tend and milk the goats, but the product is out of this world! Thank you Vicki and Ed Welch for your amazing farm!

Logo

Sunny Pine Farm serves the local community with high quality, healthy, organic products.  Ph:(509) 997-4812

Up north, the Larkhaven Cheese Farm is superb as well.  Their goat and sheep combo feta is mouth watering and would go very well with this recipe.

Larkhaven Farm  (509) 486-1199.


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