Let the games begin... Can Jam 2012

Strawberry season is once again here! We are fortunate to have a local farm that grows strawberries and has the option to pick-your-own. I've been spending quite a bit of time at Payne's not only picking for my own canning expeditions but for our Can Jam; where I and a friend shared our knowledge and experience with a group of ladies.
The idea of me "teaching" a class in canning was sort of funny. I have only been canning a year, but so many women asked if we could show them how~ we finally agreed. I tried to weasel and said, "I am sharing, not teaching." Coward that I am, I still took the plunge and in the end 20 women and one lone rooster said they had a good time and took home a jar of strawberry jam which they made in class. In fact many of them bought their supplies and have begun to venture into the amazing world of canning.
So far I've got 14 pints on my own shelves and figure maybe 21 more will do it. Then it's on to Blackberry~ I've already started to scope out some tasty patches.


DEAD CHICKENS! no just getting a tan~

Sometimes my mouth screams and other times it's just my brain, usually when I see something I can't fully process by my early warning system tells me it's BAD. Such was the first time I saw one of my beloved chicks laid out, feathers splayed, bared under belly showing, eyes 1/2 closed- it all said DEAD CHICKEN to me. Before my brain could transfer the scream to my mouth, though- there was movement. Someone stepped on someone- cause in the chicken world someone always steps on someone ruining a meal, a bug catching or in this case a sun bath.

Did not know that chickens sunbathed, or at least that was the concensus from Backyard Chickens my new favorite go-to chicken emergency sight.

I have learned alot about chickens over the last 5 weeks. How to know that your quirky chicken Alice is really a Don Knotts style rooster, that chickens love to eat eggs and a host of other tid bits that while you're in the newbie throwes of chicken ownership seem like the most important facts you can know- scripture for chicken lovers. Anyway- life is much more interesting with 6 feathered friends in the backyard- they got their new run before the coop was ready so they could move out of their cramped little 3x6 apartment. As you can see it's sunny and they are happy, bugs are a plenty and there's a great sun deck for the chicks to go wild on Spring Break.

The "He" and "She" of it all

So the chicks are now about 2.5 weeks old and I have realized some useful information: When buying chicks at the feed store~ $1.99 means "Straight run". For those of you who are not knee deep in wood chips, who don't revolve your life around cleaning pop off a feeder because someone likes to be higher than everyone else (which means feeder sitting)~ who have not yet discovered the joys of chickens...Straight Run means you takes your chances. Boys and girls, hens and roos all in the same bin- what they scoop is what you get.
I am now the proud momma of 3 little red hens and possibly 3 obnoxious Buff Orpington roosters. We won't know until someone crows. Alas if menfolk they happen to be, a friend who has lots of Buff Orpington hens needs a man around the Orpington house...so I got that goin for me- which is nice.
Here's their latest class pics.

 Maisey in all her glory. She's not one of the possible roos but she is so my fav chicken.

This is Wilma or possibly Willy, we'll see if she starts to crow soon...

As you can tell, Alice or possibly BIG Al is scrawny and squawky.

This is Pruda, a little freaked out...



Chicks Gone Wild

 The girls are here! I am no longer barren, chickless, without peeps!
After several months of pouring over chicken catalogs, websites and magazines, I had made up my mind to get chickens. Team Chicken, my effort to obtain some feathered friends was not a totally smooth campaign. Mostly due to my husband who would not only have to become a supporter of Team Chicken, but a financier as well. Eventually I won him over- well pestered him to death until he relented is more accurate.

 The problem became how to bring the future egg providers into my home. Do you order, then there's the minimums. Do you find a local provider, try finding one that has the breeds you want. Feed store? In the end, the Tractor supply won out. Of course that was after my coop got sold out from under me and I entered into what can only be described as the Land of Poo Poo Face. Unattractive and terribly distraught. My husband has no defense against this and I try not to use it as a weapon to get my way. As fast as the lower lip pooched, Jim had the car keys in hand and off we went to see what TSC had delivered that day.

 We came home with 6 chicks, 3 Buff Orpingtons, 1 New Hampshire Red and 2 Production Reds (most likely Rhode Island Red and NH Red mixes). Currently all are healthy and happy, eating, pecking and generally being chick-y. Each already has a personality and name. Maisey is shy and sweet, Alice is small but plucky, Wilma is large and round, Leila has a beauty mark and a fiesty streak, Pruda is sort of the middle child with a pretty blonde head, Bea is confident and always has first pick or peack of the food. 2 Americanuas should be added to the mix shortly to round out the flock to 8.

I'm sure this is just the start of an interesting adventure. Animal care has never been my strong suit, and livestock intimidate me, but I look forward to many fresh eggs and days watching Chicks Gone Wild.

Change is good, right?

Currently I have pine shavings in my spare bedroom, basil seeds in my purse, canning jars pretty much everywhere and Tractor Farm Suplly's number written on my palm (couldn't find paper).
I have never been what you call an "outdoor-sy" kind of girl. As a matter of fact my mother often times punished me by making me go outside~ without a book! Agony. I didn't like sitting in grass because it poked my legs. I hated having anything dirty, sticky, dusty, slimy or smelly on my hands. How did I get to this place in my life? A place where I can my own veggies, make my own bread and today- await the arrival of my first baby chicks?
This week as my birthday came and went, I started thinking about all the things I assumed I would do- but didn't. Graphic Artist/Lawyer, world traveler, single and childless living in LA has become SAHM volunteering full-time at the local church, living in a rural log cabin in North Georgia, canning, quilting and now farm animals...ok it's just chickens, but I'm also considering a goat at some point. What's wrong with this picture?
Nothing. Although it means consistently stepping out of my comfort zone- a place I really don't like- it also means adventure and a chance to see where God can take you. This week it's taking me into owning my own chickens- who knows what the week after will bring.

Bread Dough 101

I sometimes wonder if there is a pioneer gene- or perhaps it's all those Little House books I read in the 70s. Whatever the cause, doing "it" the old fashioned way has much apeal for me. Now don't misunderstand me, as much has I love quilting-I do it mostly with the help of a machine. As much as I like canning, I'd be less enamoured with the process minus my wonderful 5 burner gas stove. And bread making wouldn't happen without my Kitchen-Aid stand up mixer.
I got my cobalt blue, stainless steel bowl friend about 20 years ago as my first Mothers Day present and since then we have been inseperable. Shortly after she came into my life, I decided I would learn to bake bread. At that time, classes in things like bread baking were limited to large cities, where the "foodie" movement was but in it's infant stages. I taught myself. Taught might be a mis-nomer because what I really did was make a whole bunch of mistakes until the only thing left was somehow right. Being the quilt machine, gas stove, industrial mixer kind of girl that I am, my bread recipes tend to be a little mechanical and basic. On the flip side, once the basic bread is assembled then I can be creative in the outcome. My pizza dough become Foccacia, Garlic Butter Knots and Bread Sticks. Yeast Roll dough transforms itself into my Cinnamon Roll recipe.
Most people think bread is complicated- it isn't. The ingredients are as basic as they come. Flour, liquid, flavoring, levening....and time. It's the last ingredient that throws most people into dispair, and dough into trashcans. Bread needs time, and for some it's the one ingredient in such short supply that they dare not spare it. I get that. I love a good short-cut, but some drives are better taken at a slow pace. Bread is one of them. The following is my basic yeast dough recipe which can become Big Fat Yeast Rolls or with a few additional ingredients and a technique called a jelly roll you can have Cinnamon Rolls.

6-7 cups Bread Flour
2 cups milk warmed to no more than 110 degrees (bathwater temp)
2pkgs yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
pinch of salt

In large mixing bowl (I use my beloved Kitchen-Aid with the mixing paddle) add warm milk, yeast and sugar. Begin mixing together. Add melted butter and egg, more beating. Lastly the pinch of salt.
After all ingredients are mixed, start adding the flour about a cup at a time. Make sure to give it time to incorporate. Before you add the last cup or so, change to dough hook attachment. Add the rest of the flour or as much as needed to make a SOFT dough. It should just be pulling away from the sides. "Knead" the bread using the dough hook for about 10 min.
Place dough in a large bowl that has been greased with either a little oil or the leftovers of melted butter from the paper or glass. Cover the dough with a towel or I use a plastic grocery bag and let rest and rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Place risen dough (lovely and spongey) on a floured surface and begin to knead it by hand. This is a great work out and not as complicated as it looks. You are simply working the dough- giving it some energy and preparing it to rise again. Simply push, roll and pull back for 10 minutes or until your arms drop off- which ever comes first.
Grease your baking sheets, loaf pans or whatever pan you will use to bake your rolls or bread. Remember to have plenty of room for the rolls/bread to rise. They will double again after shaping. Shape the dough and place it on/in baking pans. Cover with a towel or plastic. HINT: I always spray my rolls with cooking spray, roll them in butter or somehow "grease them". It will prevent sticking to the covering surface and give them a nice sheen in the baking. Let rise in a warm spot 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and bake uncovered for approximately 20 min. for rolls. Watch them the last few minutes- NO BURNED ROLLS! While watching them, do it up right and melt another couple of tablespoons of butter and brush it on the tops. Serve warm- YUM!

Happiness is a brown speckled egg

With all due respect to Charles Shultz, his infamous happiness list needs to be amended~ as far as I'm concerned happiness is a brown speckled egg.
Over the past months I have been waging a campaign called "Team Chicken", in the hopes that my husband will finally surrender and embrace having chickens. Some methods have been subtle; leaving chicken publications in areas that encourage reading (enough said) and then others more overt- "Honey I would love to have chickens for my birthday." To say my efforts have met resistance would be an understatement, but I am not one to give up, easily that is.
Yesterday, at lunch, I decided to enlist our friends Chris and Trish in my assault. Now, drafting soldiers when they are sort of unaware of the battle ahead is not the wisest of moves- but they are familiar with all areas of animal husbandry and support in my joining the world of chicken ownership was sort of assumed. Their opinions were mixed and my heart rose and sank with each varied opinion. Chickens are dirty, chickens will eat just about anything, chickens will roost in your trees, fresh eggs are much better. To add to the roller coaster, I found out that Chris' dad had just got chickens. 25 to be exact, and my first thought was- "that's way over his quota, unless he's gonna add eggs to the bar-b-que menu he offers at his corner store- he should share the chicken wealth." Everywhere I turn, people are reveling in their feathered companions. Well reveling might be an eggs-ageration (cough cough) but I am chicken-less and envy kind of comes with the territory.
I was so pre-occupied nursing my barren existence that I almost missed the part where Trish reminded Chris that his dad had sent me fresh eggs. For me? I quickly brightened- forgetting my brief loss. After all the war is not over and I do get fresh eggs- on a regular basis. Slowly the wheels began turning...perhaps some chicken apprenticing would be in order. Help feeding and caring for the chickens would give me practical experience (a huge bonus in my Team chicken column) and I'll feel better about putting in some effort in my egg supply.
Today I took my 18 wonderfully brown eggs and made Deviled Eggs, Fudge Brownies and Yeast Rolls. As I washed them I appreciated the variety in size and color. I wondered at their happy little speckles and found happiness. I know they did not come from my own chickens, Team Chicken still lives. But as in most worthy campaigns, you have to remember to take the time to appreciate what it is you're fighting for.

Fried Rice

As a child, living in Hawaii, I was exposed to all sorts of Asian cooking. When my son was born I wanted him to be able to try new things as well- ok maybe I just wanted someone else to be able to eat with chopsticks since my husband is all about meat and potatoes. Matt learned to eat with chopsticks before he could do cursive, but for the most part we only ate Chinese, Japanese and other Asian foods in resturants. It seems to be that the simpler the foods the more intimadated we can be to make them at home.
Such was the case with Fried Rice.
Now I know, Fried Rice as we know it is "americanized"- but we love it and whether it's American, Chinese or a hybrid of both, limiting it to "take out" is to deprive oneself of a delicious meal anytime. The anytime part is what motivated me to the following recipe.
Being in college, Matt tends to keep strange hours. He studies late at night, sleeps in then suddenly changes it all when called into work. Meals need to be ready to heat and eat, but still have some nurishing ingredients. Fried Rice has become a go-to item. Cooked fresh, to his tastes and with ingredients I can pronounce, it checks all the boxes.
Hint: If you cook the rice in large batches ahead of time, you cut the work in 1/2.

4 C. cooked long grain white rice (better to slightly undercook rice)
1 C. onion (I prefer sweet onions)
2 eggs (beaten)
3/4 C. soy sauce
3 tbls sugar
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic (pressed or smashed)
1/2 tsp powdered ginger (freshly grated ginger is great too, but adjust to taste)
1/4 C. vegtable oil (using cooking spray will cut fat, but the taste and mouth feel of rice will be different)

Mix soy sauce, ginger, garlic and sugar together, set aside.
In a heavy bottomed skillet (I used cast iron), add a tbls. of oil and heat on high. Add eggs, coating the whole bottom of the skillet. When eggs are cooked on one side flip over and cook remaining side. Remove frome pan. Let cool as you cook onions, then slice into thin strips.
Add another tblsp of oil and saute onions. Cook until soft but not brown (you may want to reduce heat).
Add remaining oil and cooked rice. Stir to heat. If the rice is cold from fridge, you may want to beak it up a little with your hands before adding it to the skillet.
Add soy mixture and incorporate it into the rice. The rice will absorb the sauce and change color.
Add egg strips, mix and you're ready to serve.

This is a basic platform- you can add veggies, cooked meats, seafood- whatever your tastes call for. It's also a great time to use some of those bits of leftovers.

Sharing

Over the last several months, I have been thinking of what it means to "share". For those of us who ever babysat multiple children or were real parents (unlike myself I have one fabulous son who is 20) and had more than one child; the word share was a 24/7 concept. Share your toys, share the last cookie, share the blanket. My mother would often remind my sister and I that if we didn't "share" there would be none. Sharing was not just a way to stay out of trouble, it was done in the face of having nothing at all.

Whole communities exsisted because of the practice of sharing and it's more wholesale version "bartering". The owner of cows traded milk for eggs, the owner of chickens traded eggs for wheat; and before too long everyone had French Toast. It wasn't a mandate or a rural form of communism, it was a means of survival and community. Maybe it's the Wal-Mart on every corner, or that life seems to move so fast, or maybe we are so self-absorbed in our own lives to see need or name our own, - whatever the reason, we simply don't share much anymore.
Last summer, a friend declared she had pears. Her huge pear tree had provided her with an abundance of fruit and she wanted to share what was left. I am not a huge fan of pears; although one of my favorite jams I made this year was a Pear and Plum with Ginger- go figure, but I told her that I would like some to make jams for Christmas. The next Sunday, Lorie's husband appeared with nearly a bushel of pears, which I in turn transformed into various jams. After exhausting my recipe supply as well as my jelly jars, I still had about 2 doz. pears left. I remembered that Mrs. Payne, who's family owns the farmers market I frequent, had longed for some pears to make jam like her mother used to. The next day I shared the remainder of the pears with her.
Because one friend shared with another, dozens of people were blessed with pears in some form or another- sharing is foundational to community. It's sad that it seems to have gone out of fashion. While others endeavor to "bring back sexy", I think I might just try to bring back sharing.
So what does that have to do with amazing 1/2 Gal. canning jars? They, and dozens more of varying sizes, come from an older gentleman I never met. A friend of mine, who is always on the lookout for jars for me, was helping him clean out his basement. He used to can long ago but age and health problems make it difficult for him. She asked if he was willing to sell them. He said, "No." But he was willing to give them to me, which brings me hope that sharing is making a comeback!

Leftovers- Lemon Rosemarry Chicken

For years my husband Jim has taken his lunch to work. He is the ultimate in for-going taste for frugality, hence the rise in Chef Boyardee stock during the 90s. At some point, I made it a practice to pre-pack containers filled with "leftovers" in the hopes that he would eat better and that nothing would go to waste.
Although warmed leftovers is a wonderful step up from opening a can-o-lunch, it can still be boring eating a repeat of last night's performance. Turning a leftover into something new is not always possible, but when the morph is extremely successful- I celebrate.

YEA for Lemon Rosemary Chicken into Lemon Rosemary Chicken Salad on 7-Grain Whole Wheat!
1/4 C. Mayo
2 Tbsp Honey Mustard
Splash of Lemon Juice
Fresh Ground Pepper & Sea Salt to Taste

Mix and combine with 1lb (give or take) of cubed cold chicken. Serve up and don't forget to save the leftovers :)

A few weeks ago my wonderfully frugal husband decided that buying some staples in bulk was a good idea. Flour for my bread making, sugar for jamming and rice. The flour and sugar went into bins no problem, but the rice was a new item and with nowhere to really store it, the bag sat on the counter. Not sure how many re-locations the parcel made, but eventually it was either the floor or a perpetual weight lifting session everytime I went to cook, bake or make a glass of tea.

Then it dawned on me~ jars. With countless empty jars waiting to be filled taking up space in the pantry, I figured why not fill them. It would keep the rice safe from varments not to mention a decent way to move portions from the pantry to the cupboard without a small crane.

Eventually canning will resume, but not to worry; with all the jars I get gifted from family and friends there's room enough for all.

Over-Coming Fear With Strings Attached

For as long as I can remember, I have had an irrational fear in the kitchen. I'm ok with knives despite several nail-biting viewings of films such as Halloween and Scream. Perfectly calm with gas burners, electrical appliances and even though I have thrown a few across the room after poor performance- can openers do not produce the shivers. Nope, for me it's the pressure cooker. I have even been known to flee the room and watch Star Trek re-runs with hubby on Thanksgiving when my dear mother-in-law decided to use the dreaded hissing pot for cooking black-eyed peas. I have never been witness to a pressure cooker induced disaster but the combination of the steam engine noise, rattling weights and old stories of pot roast being scrubbed from the ceiling has been enough for me to refuse it's use.

Imagine my sadness when I learned that if I wished to can veggies, including my husband's favorite- green beans I would need to use a Pressure Canner. After much success with jams, pickles and salsas, I had convinced myself that being a hot-water bath canner would be enough for me. Another sign was that I was not able to grow or obtain any fresh green beans this summer. Satisfied with my accomplishments, I took a trip to the Farmers Market last Tuesday. To my surprise and amazement I was able to pick up a bushel of beautiful green beans. I quickly shoved them into my trunk never considering how I would preserve them. After unloading into my kitchen it hit me, short of meeting a hungry vegetarian hoarde all craving green beans- I would have to can them.

Brave I am not, but stubborn I am and with that in mind I viewed several on-line videos on pressure canning and since none of them included explosions or severe scalding burns, I headed to Wal-Mart and bought a pressure canner. After several hours of prayer, reading safety instructions repeatedly- I proceeded. At each step I found myself fearing less...ok so the first batch I did sit in the dining room which is a safe distance from my stove- but the point is I did it and by the time I reached my 5th load I was an old pro.

Basking in my success, I tried a bite out of the single non-sealing jar (there were 22 quarts). The taste was fabulous, yet as I reached the last chew a new sensation appeared~Ptooi! What had begun as what warriors describe as the sweet taste of victory became something akin to chewing on a rope that had come unraveled. Strings gagged me as I realized, they call them string beans for a reason. While planning out my nearest exits and the probability that I would experience severe steam burns should the canner explode- I forgot to string my green beans.

My dear husband has proclaimed them a wonderful source of fiber, while he choked down a bowl that night during dinner. So I over cam the fear of the pressure canner, learned that you must string your string beans and that my husband will suffer through much to ensure that I focus on the win rather than the loss.

BTW~ the next day my local farm stand had stringless beans for sale. I bought 10 lbs and got 9 quarts for when company or those who prefer other options for their daily fiber come to dinner.

First let me be clear~ I am not a Chile Head. In fact i'm such a wimp when it comes to all things spicy that I don't even eat salsa on my chips when we go for Mexican. My son, sister and several others that I love, despite questioning their good sense, are BIG fans of all things hot.

I heard about a new favorite in the foodie world called Siriacha and thought it just might make a unique gift for the spicy set. Canning is easy, but like standing upright on a sphere turning round in space- there are some simple rules you must follow or trouble ensues. One of those rules being that acid must be present for canned items to remain safe. I mean nothing says, "Happy Holidays!" like botulism and a trip to the E.R. Siriacha is typically not high enough in acid to be canned safely, but thanks to a fellow blogger, the following recipe was just what I needed.

As we speak, about 2lbs of peppers, a mix of Sweet Reds, Red Bananas, Red chilies (either Thai or Cayenne) and few Habineros thrown in to make it interesting) are marinating in vinegar with about 15 cloves of Garlic....

Cinnamon Rolls and Buttery Yeast Rolls- a delicious 2-fer

I love to bake. As a little girl my grandmother would set me up on her kitchen counter, along with her creamy yellow Mix Master, and engage me in the wonderful world of flour, sugar, eggs and flavorings. Most often we made cakes, sometimes pies but sadly never bread. As an adult I married into a family that considers bread an all-important part of the meal. Seconds, thirds and so on of some type of bread items is required.

Early on in my marriage I discovered that I could make my own bread and so after my mother-in-law gave me what has become my most prized possession in the kitchen~ a cobalt blue Kitchen-Aid that I still use today, I began my adventure into bread-making.

As satisfying as it is to make pizza dough, sour dough bread and garlic butter knots, it's my Cinnamon Rolls that people usually ask for. As easy as they are to make; and truly bread is one of the easiest things in the world to bake, it does take an investment of time. Three hours for cinnamon rolls, no matter how delicious takes some commitment and so I developed a yeast roll recipe, made from the same dough that allowed me to get a 2-fer out of the process.

I'll post the recipe when I have a few more moments. I still need to make the cream cheese icing.

A moist muffin that goes crunch

I came upon this really simple idea while making some Banana Muffins for my son Matt. In college and chained either to the computer or textbooks, he finds it difficult to stop and eat. Foodstuffs that can be held in the hand and devoured in several bites are a premium. I had just got done making some individual rustic tarts that received a lovely sprinkling of sugar on the crust before baking; giving it a wonderful crunch~ when it hit me. Why not add some to the muffins. In this case it was a light dusting of cinnamon sugar. The result is a moist muffin with a sweet crunch.

I would imagine this would work with most sweet muffins and adds that little something extra.

Who Could Be A Mater Hater?

To be honest, my love of tomatoes has not always been. I mean they were ok. Most of my experience as a kid with tomatoes came from a can, with the exception of my dad's spaghetti sauce which I believed was more about alchemy than tomatoes. In my teens I discovered that people actually grew tomatoes, but still my interest was never peaked. One day, while reading a magazine in a doctor's office, I saw an article depicting images of something called "Heirloom Tomatoes". now these were no ordinary red tennis ball sized veggies- they were purple and yellow, green and orange; ranging in size from tiny grape like fruit to ginormous grapefruit sized beauties. It was at that moment that I became intrigued.

Most cooks talk about flavor profiles as what draws them to a certain ingredient- but for me it's color, shape and texture that draws me in...which might explain my disasterous experience with some yellow egg-shaped tomatoes I grew last year . They were so bad that I couldn't give them away, at least to people who had tried them. I was not happy to see that the gorgeous little darlings had re-seeded themselves into my tomatoe patch to make a return visit this year...gotta admire them for their perseverence.

I planted several varieties of heirloom tomatoes this year. With the crazy weather, including a tornado that hit less than 5 miles from my home, my maters have struggled. Slowly but surely they have begun to ripen and are now yeilding their wonderful greens, yellows, blood reds and orange fruit. I woke up wondering what to do with them to preserve their uniqueness- other than of course slicing them up on a couple of pieces of toast with salt, pepper and balsamic dressing. I found this fom one of my favorite blogs. I believe Black Krim Tomatoe Butter may just be the thing for my favorite tomatoes...

Zucchini Bread

I love to make up my own recipes or at least put some twists on others, but sometimes you find one that just works. This was the first year that I grew zucchini. Truthfully I had never tasted the stuff, but it sounded interesting so why not. Well, the plants grew into these paleozoic monsters and the zucchini just about took over my freezer. That is until I discovered Zucchini Bread and this recipe. It really is worth a try. It makes 2 loaves, one to eat and the other to freezer or gift. I pulled up the remains of my dino squash today, but we'll still have zucchini well into winter. And of course there's always next year ;)

Gettin' Tomatoes Nekkid

Here in the rural south you don't get naked; you get nekid. Stripping off your clothes in order to enjoy fun or rest. Today, my tomatoes are gettin' nekid. I'm discovering that prepping tomatoes for canning is sort of a messy business. Juice all over the counter, dripping onto the floor- seeds everywhere. On the other hand, the color, the smell and even the feel of these red fruit is really a happy experience. One of the best parts is slipping off the tomato skins, sort of like undressing after a long day and getting ready to just relax- in this case a pair of shorts and t-shirt is replaced by a glass jar, the couch my pantry shelves.

Tomatoes and supporting your local growers

Moving to a small and fairly rural town often time means discovering new things that aren't new at all. I remember the first time I drove thru a typical southern "town square". It was like taking a step back in time. The first time I went to an off the beaten path family run resturant that had a 1 & 3 (1 meat and 3 sides) I was amazed that I had been so satisfied with drive-thru's and chain value meals. Granted both would clog your arteries thoroughly but at least at Teresa's you could do it with wonderful menu items like fried okra, banana puddin' and chicken fried steak.
Another revelation was the U-Pick farm. Being raised in an enviroment where farms and farmers were reserved for picture books or Farm Aid concerts, it was incredible to me that there were places where not only you could connect with family farms, but that you could be apart of the harvest.
This year my wanderings have led me to an especially great U-Pick Farm owned and opperated since the 40's. Payne Farm and Produce has become one of my favorite haunts this Summer. I have to admit, that part of my love of Payne's is that most everything is really cheap. I mean where else can you get juicy Rutgers Tomatoes for .48 cents a lb? I didn't even pick those- they did the work for me. But cost aside, it's just fun to visit this family run farm. To talk about how the beans are comin' along or why my tomatoes haven't turned yet. There in the steamy hot little shed where produce is stored, you can truly connect with those who are eeking out a living growing food in a responsible way.
It's hard work, growing and harvesting food. Everytime I go out and weed my own garden or pick squash at Paynes to put up I have some understanding of how difficult it would be to rely on rain, sun and the strength of your back to make a living. But each day they do it and make it possible for me and many others to enjoy great food grown organically and locally for a fraction of what the local Kroger charges.
Tomorrow I'll be putting up the tomatoes that the Payne family picked for me today. This winter I'll be making spaghetti sauce from those same tomatoes and next Spring I'll look forward to doing it all again, probably while I'm picking some of the greatest strawberries in the county at Payne Farm and Produce. If you are looking for a U-Pick Farm in your area, go to www.pickyourown.com follow the links and it will give you lists of farms near you.

Bronx Cheesecake

My son Matt is crazy for cheesecake, likewise his crew of friends. Matt is a great test taster. He's honest, sometimes brutally and he can articulate what he likes about a dish and what he does like. It took us a few tries to get the Bronx Cheesecake right. Matt prefers things less sweet and not really heavy. On the other hand I've tasted some desserts where you can't tell you've eaten anything, what's the fun in that?
Thru research I discovered that New York style is made soely from cream cheese and occasionaly some sour cream while the Italian version is made with ricotta. All ricotta seemed too light while all cream cheese would add 10 lbs and require excersise...NO WAY...
A blend of the two resulted in a creamy cake, not too sweet, not too heavy. Matt approved whole heartedly and so did his crew. This recipe is easy to adapt as well. I have added cocoa powder and used chocolate cookies/graham crackers for the crust to make a chocolate version as well as adding blackberries to make a summery treat.
The only trick to this recipe is baking it in a water bath. I do this so that the temperature remains pretty consistent preventing sudden changes, which can result in cracking on the top of your cheesecake. If that does happen, don't worry. consider it an opportunity to decorate with some fruit, whipped cream or anything else your imagination inspires you to do.
Like most recipes, they are inspired by others, a persons preferences and creativity. Give this one a go~I made the measurements and ingredient list easy. Eventually you can make it from memory.

Bronx Cheesecake

Crust:
1/2 box graham crackers (your flavor and brand choice)
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup melted butter

Filling:
16oz cream cheese (softened)
16oz ricotta cheese
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup flour

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Crush graham crackers (I use a food processor), blend sugar and pour in butter. Mix until combined
I use a springform pan. a pie pan is going to be too small, but you might get 2 if you wanna try ;). Pour in crust mixture and pat it into the bottom and up the sides. I use a flat bottomed measuring cup. It works great!
Bake crust in oven for 10-15 min. Just until browned slightly. Turn oven down to 350 after removing crust. Set aside to cool a bit while you make the filling.

In a mixer (by hand is near impossible YIKES) add cream cheese. Blend to make sure it's creamy. Add ricotta, blend. Add vanilla, blend. Add flour, blend. Last thing add eggs, blend until incorporated well. DO NOT OVER MIX. Over mixing leads to cracking.

Take aluminum foil and cover the springform pan bottom to top. This will prevent any seepage of water from the water bath. Now set crust filled springform pan into a large roasting pan, or a pan with high sides that can accomodate the springform pan. This will be your water bath.
Pour filling into crust. Place roasting pan into the oven, middle rack then pour in as much hot water as it takes into the raosting pan to come up 1/2 the sides of the springform pan.

Bake for 1 hour at 350. Turn oven off and leave cake in for another hour as the oven cools. Remove roasting pan from oven. Remove springform from it and allow the cake to cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Remove springform and serve.