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New Year – New Beginnings – Brussel Sprout Slaw Recipe

January 1, 2013
Brussel Sprout Slaw

Brussel Sprout Slaw

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to the New Year in a big way. To say that 2012 was a challenge, would be an understatement. I have not shared before, but in July of 2012, Mr. K became unemployed. In the beginning, we thought it would be easy to find employment, but we were very mistaken. By December of 2012, he had applied to over 300 positions, engaged in some interviews and in that said month 1 offer was tendered. A position in Georgia. GEORGIA! Being a Cali girl, this was a sad/scary moment for me. But looking into the area, etc. we came to the conclusion that it would be a nice place to land. Then something else happened, almost simultaneously another job interview was presented, and ultimately an offer was made with a company in Southern California! Nothing for 4+ months, then 2 job offers in one month! Crazy. I do not know if fate, karma or what intervened for us, but it happened and we are staying in California. Yay! So, needless to say, with Mr. K’s new employment, it will be a new beginning for our family in more ways than one.

So with our new beginning ahead of us, I would share a new recipe for Brussel Sprout Slaw. It is excellent as a side dish, maybe serve it with some of your holiday leftovers. This recipe is for a lightly dressed slaw, the Young One likes the slaw a little saucier, so just make your own adjustments depending on how “saucy” you like it. Additionally, I sliced the brussel sprouts with a food processor using the thinnest blade for slicing.

Local Products – Brussel Sprouts, Raisins, Red Onion

Sliced Brussel Sprouts

Sliced Brussel Sprouts

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Brussel Sprout Slaw
Author: 
Recipe type: Side Dish, Vegetable
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 - 8
 
Easy, tasty side dish.
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. brussel sprouts, sliced
  • ½ c mayonaise
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tbsp. vinegar
  • 4 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled (save a little for garnish)
  • ¼ c. red onion, chopped
  • ¼ c. raisins
  • Sunflower seeds
Instructions
  1. Combine mayonaise, sugar & vinegar together in bowl.
  2. Once combined, add remaining ingredients except sunflower seeds.
  3. Toss until combined.
  4. Garnish with bacon & sunflower seeds. Season with salt & pepper, if desired.
  5. Chill & serve.
Notes
© cinderskitchen.com

 

 


Filed under: Calivore, Local Vegetables, Salad, Side Dish
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Loaded Cauliflower

September 28, 2012

Loaded Cauliflower

This is a version of “Twice Baked Potatoes” using cauliflower.  Who does not love loaded baked potatoes?  I know I do, but if you are looking to lower your carb count, here is a great alternative.  A special tool that I used for this recipe was a “Potato Ricer“and I used the smallest “die”.  I wanted a really smooth product like mashed potatoes.  I tried a blender, my Kitchen Aid stand mixer but the ricer produced the smoothest result between the three.  If you have a food mill, you could also try that and I think next time I will to see if I get a smoother result.

The ingredients in this recipe really worked well, but you can always add or take away something as desired.

Local note – Cauliflower is from Sanger, California.

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Loaded Cauliflower
Author: 
Recipe type: Side Dish
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 medium head cauliflower
  • 6 ounces sour cream
  • 3 green onions, sliced
  • 6 slices bacon, crumbled
  • ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • salt/pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking dish with non-stick spray.
  2. Cut cauliflower in to medium to small chunks. Steam until tender.
  3. Using a potato ricer, "rice" cauliflower into a medium bowl.
  4. Add sour cream to "riced" cauliflower and stir. Save some of the green onion, bacon and cheddar cheese for garnish. Add remaining green onions, bacon and cheddar cheese and stir.
  5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Place mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.
Notes
© Cinder's Kitchen

 


Filed under: Local Foods, Local Vegetables, Recipe, Side Dish, Vegetable
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Creamed Corn Bubba’s Way

September 3, 2012

Creamed Corn Bubba’s Way!

I don’t remember when I first tried/made this recipe but it is one of those comfort foods you fall back on every so often. This recipe was named after my dad “Bubba”, though there seems to be some rankling about who really came up with the recipe I just remember getting it from him.  But with that said, he also told me when I was about 6 years old he invented the Grilled Cheese Sandwich, so consider the source.  🙂

This recipe uses Brentwood Corn, it’s so simple and a special treat you might make it more than once.  We always buy yellow corn as we think the white corn is just too sweet for us. You use what you enjoy the most whether it be yellow corn, white corn or both!  For this recipe the corn should already be cooked before mixing with the other ingredients.   You can use corn from many sources of your choosing fresh, frozen, canned or ??? it is up to you.  I shucked the corn using “Ken’s Trick” from YouTube.  (Check out my Tips & Tricks page for the video)

Brentwood Corn 🙂

Local Food(s) – Corn is from Dwelley Farms in Oakley,  California (we bought a case!). Here is another one of my  favorite  sources forBrentwood Corn.

Creamed Corn Bubba’s Way

Cooked Corn Kernels from 3 Ears of Corn (These ended up weighing 10.7 ounces of kernels)

1 1/2 ounces of Cream Cheese

1/2  Tablespoon Butter

1/4  Teaspoon Seasoned Salt

2 Green Onions sliced for Garnish

Place all ingredients except green onion in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir until melted & heated through.   Garnish with sliced green onion. Serve!

Tip – You can always add a dash of water if you think the mix is too thick. Not too much though. I ended up not needing to do so.


Filed under: Corn, Local Foods, Local Vegetables, Side Dish, Vegetable
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My Homework Project from IFBC – Christmas Lima Bean & Dill Pollen

September 1, 2012

I attended the International Food Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon this year.  What a fun event and learned so much.  In attending a conference session titled “Break Out of Your Recipe Routine: Where to Discover New Meals to Blog About”   hosted by Alex Malott of Foodie.com and Currin Berdine of StumbleUpon.  They had a wealth of information to help trigger new ideas, recipes, and more.  In addition, they gave us “homework”.  Each of us received a package of ingredients to take home, create a recipe and write about it.  In my package courtesy of Marx Foods there were two ingredients I had never heard of before Christmas Lima Beans and Dill Pollen.

Homework

I wondered why they were called Christmas Lima Beans, because at first glance they looked speckled with a brown color, but now that I have soaked them they are a lively red and white/tan color resembling the colors of Christmas!

Heirloom Beans

The first website I visited told me how long to soak the beans (8 hours) and to cook them about 45 minutes.  Well, when that did not work I looked for more website posts.  I found one where the author said cooking the beans could take as long as 2 hours, and to not over cook them.  Well, these beans ended up cooking for hours!  I think at least 4 until they were done.  I lost count after a while.  I think I tasted more raw beans during the process than what was left at the end of the “assignment”. Well, I chose to make a bean salad with my ingredients and the end result was quite tasty.

Local Note – The green beans in this recipe are from Smith Family Farm in Knightsen, California.

 

 

Christmas Lima Bean & Farm Stand Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

Christmas Lima Beans

Farm Stand Green Beans

1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar

1/2 cup Oil

1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt & Pepper to taste

Dash/smidgen Dill Pollen

Soak the Christmas Lima Beans for at least 8 hours or overnight water covering the beans by over 2 inches.  Rinse. Then cook the beans in water, covering them with several inches of the water.  Boil until tender.  Replace water as necessary.  Once tender, drain and let cool.

Snap ends off green beans.  Place in steamer and steam with water until tender. Cool beans. Place both the Christmas Lima Beans and the green beans in a bowl.

Mix remaining ingredients, except dill pollen,  in a jar with a lid.  Place lid on jar and shake until all ingredients are mixed/emulsified.  Dress beans with the Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette to taste.  Sprinkle a very small amount of the dill pollen on the salad (the dill pollen is very potent).  Stir/toss the salad to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.  Serve as a side dish with BBQ meats, or as a dish by itself.  Enjoy!


Filed under: Christmas Lima Beans, Fresh Green Beans, Local Foods, Local Vegetables, Recipe, Salad, Side Dish, Vegetable
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Crustless Heirloom Tomato Pie – Need Help

August 28, 2012

UPDATE – I think I have it figured out.  Will test the recipe again and post next week.  Thank you!

 

I am making a recipe for the above mentioned pie and I need your help.  The end result was a very tasty dish, with unpleasant results.  The dish ended up being very watery, I believe from the tomatoes.

What I did with the tomatoes was slice them and sprinkle with salt, so the water would leach out.  I let them do that for at least 2 hours and they did leach a lot of water.  Before assembling in the casserole dish, I patted each one dry.  I then baked the pie for about 45 minutes and then let it rest for about 10 minutes.  There must have been at least 1/2 cup of liquid at the bottom of the dish.

What are your recommendations for a more pleasant outcome?  Should I let the tomatoes sit longer?  Is there a different method?  I don’t want to use different tomatoes as this dish was really tasty (coming from someone who is not a big fan of tomatoes) and very eye appealing with all the different colors of tomatoes.

Any suggestions, recommendations and tips would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you and Cheers!


Filed under: Local Foods, Local Vegetables, Side Dish, Vegetable
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Hatch Chiles

August 16, 2012

 

Note – I know this is not a local product, but I do consider it a find! Vacation to New Mexico next year? Sounds like a plan!

I only recently learned about Hatch Chiles by following Melissa’s Produce on Facebook.   Apparently this chile has a cult following.  Had it not been for Melissa’s Produce posting on Facebook, I probably would have never noticed the large display in my local Raley’s Supermarket. They are on sale right now for $.89 cents a pound, a bargain!  Hatch Chiles are grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico and it’s thought their uniqueness is because of the climate there in the growing season.

I thought these chiles were going to be mild like an Anaheim Chile (who I found out is a relative).  Don’t let their looks deceive you!  They are a mild chile but with a kick, as I was preparing them for cooking the air became quite potent with their aroma and I had a coughing fit!  Had to catch my breath, then I touched my face later (without thinking), a slight burning sensation ensued.  But believe me, the experience was worth it!

This is not a recipe, I am just telling you what I did as I did not measure anything, just eyeballed it.

I purchased 4 Hatch Chiles, Sliced down one side and seeded the chiles. They  are more potent than you think so be careful. I baked the chiles for about 15 minutes in my toaster oven at 350 degrees in a prepared dish. I let them cool.

I browned some sausage. On hand I had a 16 ounce package of Farmer John’s Spicy Pork Sausage and let it cool. I stirred the sausage with a little bit of low-fat mayo just to moisten and added some Monterey Jack cheese and stuffed the mixture into the prepared chilies.  Then I baked the dish in the toaster oven again for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Great side dish!

The verdict on this dish was that it was really tasty, but I wish the filling was moister.  I tried to keep it low carb.  Next time I might not fully cook the sausage before stuffing the peppers.  But all in all, those Hatch Chiles are a winner, so go out there and get yourself some Hatch Chiles, you won’t be disappointed!  These chiles are only available for a short time during the summer, I think until some time in September so you had better hurry and get your fill.

 

TIPS

There is a newly published cookbook called the Hatch Chile Cookbook by Gloria Chadwick which contains 300 recipes.

Here is a website you can purchase your Hatch Chiles and have them shipped to your home, if they are not locally available for you. (But hurry!)

UPDATE –

I visited my local Raley’s Market today (8/20/12) to take advantage of their sale and the Hatch Chiles were GONE!!!

 


Filed under: Recipe, Side Dish, Vegetable
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Brentwood Cornfest Recipe Contest

July 24, 2012

Every year in July there is a corn celebration in Brentwood, California. It’s called the “Brentwood Cornfest” and is held in the second week of that month.

This year I saw the bulletin requesting recipes for their contest. I thought about it and decided to submit a recipe that include this lucious Brentwood Corn. I chose a salad/side dish for the event. I used to buy a similar salad from a catering establishment in Downtown Brentwood called “Gooseberry Fool”. A nice little gourmet store in the heart of Downtown. Sadly, the store is no longer there but many good memories remain. So, I took this salad, put my own spin on it and added grilled corn.

For the contest, ten of us competed for a first, second and third prize. This recipe took second place in the competition and I simply called it “Israeli Couscous with Grilled Corn”.

Have you ever tried Brentwood Corn? If not, you are missing out on some of the best corn you have never tasted! Hard to explain, you really have to try it for yourself. It is sweet, without being too sweet, large crunchy kernels and large cobs. I prefer the yellow version, but many people here prefer the white corn.

Israeli Couscous Salad with Grilled Corn

1 pkg. Israeli Couscous (prepare as directed on package)

1/3 cup Dried Cranberries
2 cobs Corn, grilled
2 tbsp. Italian Parsley, chopped
3 Green Onions, sliced (green part only)
1/3 cup Pecans, toasted
1/2 cup Lemon and Olive Oil dressing (recipe below)

Mix together all ingredients, except dressing. Stir well. Add dressing. Add more than 1/2 cup dressing if desired. Refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Lemon and Olive Oil Dressing

Zest of 1 Lemon
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic
1 tsp. Salt

Grate/mince garlic. Combine with salt to make a paste. In container with lid, add all ingredients. Shake well. Makes 1 cup.

Note: I like to add the toasted pecans right before serving, that way they remain toasty & crunchy. I used “Rice Select” Pearl Couscous (Tri-Color), using the whole container (11.53 oz.) I think it makes for a very colorful and pleasing side dish.

Thank you to the Brentwood Cornfest and KSFO 560 Radio for sponsoring the event!

International Food Blogger Conference 2012 Portland


Filed under: Recipe, Salad, Side Dish
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