Delicious Kale Bortsch: Russian Beet Soup

Oct 21, 2014 by

This recipe makes a big pot of delicious soup! One of my favorite winter soups, with a fabulous sour sweet taste with a good kick of cumin, and appealing deep red color.  It’s not tricky to make but does require a good bit of cutting up veggies. I serve leftovers  for a couple of days and freeze the rest.

Traditionally, it calls for curly Savoy cabbage. I couldn’t find any once so I tried curly dinosaur kale with a handful or two of green cabbage. It was delicious, maybe even better than the original.

Clean and trim the vegetables. Chop them up.

Cut up the salt pork and brown it a few minutes in a large soup pot. You may need to add a little oil if the pork doesn’t really render much. Add the cut up vegetables, the tomato paste, and stir it all up for a couple of minutes over…

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Anna's Famous Basil Pesto with Pecans

Jan 23, 2012 by

 

I used to make pesto with pine nuts. Pesto is a traditional Italian sauce or spread usually made of basil, pine nuts, cheese, garlic and olive oil. I love pine nuts, but the main problem with them is that they’re quite expensive.

Then I found myself living in Texas, with six pecan trees in my yard.  So I started making pesto with those pecans, and people loved it. Many cards and letters have come in requesting my pesto recipe, so here it is.

I recommend…

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Maple Glazed Carrots and Turnips

Dec 21, 2009 by

The maple glaze gives the vegetables a delicious, sweet flavor.  It was also delicious on the grilled fish I served with them both times I made it.  Not every body likes turnips but they were much softened by the glaze and I found their bitterness a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the carrots and the glaze. I’m sure other vegetables work also work well with this recipe: rutabagas, parsnips, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, onions…

4-5 turnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

8-10 or so carrots, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

2 T olive oil

2 T sherry vinegar

1 C broth

2 T pure maple syrup

2 T unsalted butter

Put the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over them and toss well to coat. Spread them out in one layer and season with a little salt and pepper. Roast at 350 until lightly browned and tender, about 35-40…

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Liver and spinach that kids will love: Spinach Crepes Bernoise

Dec 3, 2009 by

Think it’d be nice if you could get your kids to eat liver? or spinach? How about both at once? Here’s an unusual, easy and delicious recipe that my kids have always loved. The key: pretend you have no interest in whether they eat them or not, but enjoy them yourself. Ask very casually if they want to try any. Do not urge them. If they are hungry and you do not press them, they are pretty likely to try it.

Spinach Crepes Bernoise

Spinach crepes:

3 C fresh spinach

3 C milk

2 ¼ C sifted flour (whole grain if desired, or mix of whole and white)

4-5 whole eggs

Pinch of salt (to taste)

Pinch of nutmeg (to taste)

6 T melted butter

(you might want to actually bump this up to 4 c of spinach and milk and so forth. There are never too many crepes. We eat them plain if we run out of filing.)

  1. Place…
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Healthy, tasty and unusual snack: East Indian Popcorn

Nov 28, 2009 by

This totally different popcorn recipe is a simple, quick and easy way to make a healthy and delicious homemade snack for kids or adults.  Popcorn is actually nutritious, if it’s not slathered in unnatural grease and tons of salt. This curry-spiced version is full of interesting flavors and textures.

When I first came across a Food & Wine cookbook recipe for “Indian Popcorn,” I looked for the “nigella seeds,” aka “black onion seeds,” it called for. Not finding them, I substituted sesame seeds. They ended up burnt to a crisp on the bottom of the pan.

Since then, my garlic chive plants have blossomed and are now dropping their little black seeds. I thought maybe I could use those seeds…

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Do it yourself: save money, eat better by making your own yogurt

Nov 17, 2009 by

Do you dream of getting your hands on some raw, local, organically produced milk from grass-fed, pastured cows at a reasonable price? Do you love the idea of making your own simple, old-fashioned cultured milk products?

Where there’s a will, there’s probably a way.

I am getting three gallons of good raw milk every other week from a farm in the area. I make four quarts of delicious and nutritious yogurt for about $7 every other week.  It’s extremely simple and satisfying.  It’s an easy way to be more self-reliant and less dependent on industrial food corporations. It’s also a great way to give your kids a closer relationship to food and its magic.

The sources for good raw milk tend to be more underground than otherwise, but such sources…

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