Tibetan Beet Chicken Stew

This recipe produces a heavenly scented meal. It took some effort to prepare the beets. They needed to be peeled and chopped and that can be a bit messy, but if the hot pink won't wash off of your hands or cooking surfaces, use baby wipes.





1 whole hen quartered (I used 4 thighs with legs from Plato Dale) laid on 4 tbls of sesame seed oil in the bottom of a crockpot. Add in 3 small to medium sized onions chopped with their greens, 20 crushed garlic cloves, 4 chopped carrots, 12 beets peeled and chopped.

The stew is flavored with Advieh, a blend of seasonings similar to a masala, made up of: 

2 tbls each of black peppercorns, cloves, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom seeds, bay leaves

¼ cup coriander seeds

1 tsp dried crushed chillies
1 tbls dried rose petals (optional)

Pour in a vegetable stock made from carrots and onions and celery leaves boiled soft in water and then pureed. 6 to 8 hours on low. Strain out the cardamon pods and bay leaves. Serve over rice.

Chard, Wild Herbs, and Garlic & Herb Jack Cheese Focaccia Ring

This is a take on the Spinach and Garlic & Herb Jack Cheese Ring.

2 tsp sugar
1/4 package active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound herbed cheese

4 oz wild herbs

shredded pecorino parmesan

In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

While waiting for the yeast to proof, take a selection of herbs and mince them finely, adding olive oil to the bowl you set them aside in. Rough chop the chard.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour; stir well to combine. Stir in additional water, 1 tbls at a time, until all of the flour is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 minute.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead briefly. Roll the dough and layer in the minced herbs, rough chopped chard and pieces of cheese. Roll tightly and seal the ring and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with salt and shredded pecorino parmesan.

Bake the focaccia ring for 20 minutes, depending on desired crispness.

How Farms Are Born

This past Monday was a hot, clear, bright day; just ripe for taking an adventure. My dear friend Chimene and her husband purchased land in Chautauqua County last year, not far from the lake. Chautauqua, in Iroquois, means 'where the fish jump' and the lake's large striped perch show how aptly it was named.

Part of the land is being prepared for a store. The building is being framed and the roadway cleared and leveled and soon she will have it open for business, with soaps to items made from alpaca wool, to preserves and produce and more.

This bit of land has all sorts of charm to it. From it's rustic shed to....

...it's far reaching tree line, barn frame, and bee hives, to it's...

...friendly blue house that sits squat across the top of the slope.

Swaths of bushy chamomile peer sunnily out of raised beds.

Juicy cabbages line up neat and orderly.

I had never seen these squash before. Similar to the patty pan, the Yugoslavian Finger Fruit Squash's disk shape has finger-like protrusions and has a rather nondescript summer squash flavor, though there is some mention that it can have a coconut flavor when picked young.

Here is Chimene, plucking up the largest one off the vines. Apparently they grow very large quite quickly.

Speaking of patty pan, here is a small one just budding under it's floral crown. These have been my favorite since childhood.

Plump tomatillos droop under the brilliant sun. These fruits are the base ingredient in Salsa Verde, a scrumptious pale green sauce used as a garnish on many Mexican dishes.

The land is edged with wild herbs like echinacea and blackberries and raspberries. It really is quite the loveliest bit of land I have seen in a long time.

Fort Valley Peach Salsa Grilled Pork, Garlic Parmesan Asparagus and Wild Herb Salad

Sliver a 2 pound pork loin into 2" x 3" medallions. Marinate the pork in Mango Peach Salsa.

Diced tomatoes, diced mangos, diced peaches, diced onions, diced roasted red sweet peppers, minced jalapeno peppers, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, minced cilantro, and minced garlic, salt and pepper.

Separate evenly into three foil packets.

Grill on medium flame for 15 to 20 minutes.

Trim and wash the asparagus. Drizzle with olive oil and season with garlic....

....and parmesan cheese. Grill on top rack for 10 minutes.

These herbs were harvested from our hanging herb garden.

Wild herb salad: ginger, chocolate and pineapple mints, lemon thyme, rosemary, chives with flowers, basil, wild asian greens, arugula, and spinach.

Roasted red sweet peppers that were drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with Grind to a Salt by Simply Organics.

Very tasty!

White Chicken Sausage Chili with Pureed Leek and Japanese Sweet Potato in a Bread Bowl

In a crock-pot, add two large cans of pinto and cannelloni beans. Add in 1 cup of water, 3 tbls of white pepper and freshly cracked or ground pepper, 1 tbls salt, 1 tbls powdered garlic, 3 tsp dry mustard, and 3 tbls of minced parsley. Pan fry 5 Spar's chicken sausages (I recommend the Apple, Bacon, Chive and Herb Sausages). Slice and add to the chili and cook for 4 hours.

Spray the bottoms of four oven safe bowls with olive oil spray. Divide pizza dough and shape into bowl shapes and fit over the bottoms of the containers, resting them onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Boil one medium sized sliced leek in 1 cup of water. Puree with a stick blender.

 Steam bake 1 Japanese Sweet Potato (Paper bag and microwave on the potato setting). Then slice and add to the leek puree.




Puree the sweet potato and then fill a pastry bag with the green creaminess and pipe onto your bowl, either on top or under the chili.

Five nice sized servings contain your day's recommended level of fiber and has been clinically shown to reduce blood sugar levels. Baked in its skin, 100 grams of sweet potato contains 90 calories with no cholesterol and minimal fat. Japanese sweet potatoes contain 11,509 micrograms of beta-carotene, which is especially important to the health of your eyes. An excellent source of vitamin A, sweet potatoes fulfil almost 12 times the daily amount recommended by the Institute of Medicine to maintain a low risk of chronic diseases. The vitamin C content in sweet potatoes is comparable to grapefruit and supplies 30 percent DV, or daily value.

One medium Japanese sweet potato contains 4 percent DV for calcium and iron and contains significant amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium. Sweet potatoes contain B vitamins -- thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, folate and B-6. In addition, Japanese sweet potatoes contain essential amino acids.

To learn another way to make this awesome fall vegetable go to this link.

Spar's Heritage Sausage Wraps, Smoked Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits, Organic Carrots, and Mixed Salad

Spar's Heritage Pork Smoked Sausage with Mushrooms & Bavarian Swiss wrapped in a soft buttermilk biscuit. Spar's also carries a number of deli meats and cheeses. In between two biscuits is a layer of their smoked cheddar. The carrots are rough jullienned and steamed. Their flavor was so amazing that they didn't need anything like butter or salt! Simple fair that's simply out of this world delicious!

Creamed Potato, Leek, and Shredded Zucchini with Yellow Fin Tuna, Asiago, and Ditalini Pasta Casserole

Cream together potatoes, leeks, heavy cream, shredded asiago, parsley, chili powder, salt, pepper, and celery salt.

 Shred the zucchini and add to the cream. Then add in the flaked tuna. Boil the ditalini pasta, drain, then mix into the veggie cream sauce.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Russian Chicken, Potato, and Carrot Casserole with Pearsauce

Layer in 5 large potatoes thinly sliced with olive oil, butter, salt, and white pepper sprinkled liberally through out. Start to bake in oven covered at 400 degree. In a pan on the stove, layer sliced chicken in melted butter and olive oil, frying till lightly browned. Add 1/4 cup of Half&Half and 2/3 cup shredded soft white cheese of your choice, simmer. Add sliced carrots on top of potatoes. Add creamy chicken. Sprinkle with minced parsley, paprika, white and tri-color cracked pepper. Continue to bake until potatoes are easily pierced and creamy cheese sauce just begins to look brown. Using a stick mixer, blend smooth 3 very ripe pears and serve on the side.

Chicken Fajitas and Homemade Guacamole

Wednesday night's are South of the Boarder Nights. But to be honest we've had so many taco nights in the last two weeks (as if to make up for a month of no tacos, due to the Locavore Challenge) I put a ban on anything taco like, but relented when Bob offered to make chicken fajitas and homemade guacamole (my veggie weakness!).
He used local chicken and an organic mix from Simply Organic. The guacamole was 3 organic fruits mixed with minced red onion, 1/2 a lime's worth of juice, powdered garlic, red chili powder, salt, and pepper. Delicioso!

Day 16 - South American Quinoa and Beans with Cucumber Salad

Breakdown cost of this meal.

Beans $2.99
Quinoa $1.00
Honey from Dawes Hill $1.00
Lettuce $0.80
Cucumbers $0.50
Broccoli $1.00
Cumin, salt, and pepper
Peppercorns, Coriander and Dill seed ground
Sour Cream from Byrne Dairy $1.99
A splash of organic milk

Total cost for 4 servings = $9.28

Fry the beans in olive oil, cumin, salt, pepper, and honey. Turn flame down low and leave a pepper in until time to serve to add a touch of heat to the beans. Make quinoa like rice, adding 1 cup shaved broccoli in during the last five minutes. Crack peppercorns, dill and coriander seeds and mix with 1/2 cup sour cream and a splash of milk. Stir in the cucumbers and set in the freezer for 10 minutes to get very cold. Then dish and enjoy!

Day 14 - Chili and McKenzie's Black Cherry Hard Cider

 

Breakdown cost of this meal.

McKenzie's Black Cherry Hard Cider $6.99
Cayuga Pure Organics Beans $3.99
Sorrento Cheese Mozzarella $2.99
Tomatoes $4.87
Mixed herbs and spices
Byrne Dairy Sour Cream $1.99
23 Meatballs (broken down) made at the beginning of the challenge

Total cost for 4 servings = $20.83

WNY Bounty - The beauty of local, seasonal, heirloom organic fruits and vegetables

These tomatoes are mine, and will be used to make
Green Tomato Raspberry Jam.