Cheryl Wixson's Kitchen

Family Gatherings are a time to enjoy good food

My cousin Kurt and his family were visiting Maine last week for some skiing and good times. We all (seventeen of us!)joined them at camp on Saturday night for a family celebration. Menu included:

Rabbit pate on toast points with apple slices
Clam Fritters with tartar sauce, cranberry ketchup and peach salsa
Sunset Acres Farm goat cheese on Flip’s homemade crackers
* * *
Meaty Chili (made with King Hill beef and lamb, and Hamilton Farm spicy pork sausage)
Root Cellar Slaw dressed with Smedburg Farms smoky bacon dressing
Cornbread made with Jen’s freshly ground cornmeal
Suz’s country creamery farm butter
Apple Gingerbread
Quill’s End Farm whippped jersey cream

Yes, the inspiration and supplies for this menu all came from my stores, root cellar, preserves and freezer. Kind of like Thanksgiving in February!
We love to share the wealth with our family and friends…and folks are always willing to help out to lighten the load. I’ve included some recipes.

CLAM FRITTERS
Every Down East family has its favorite recipe for these
delicious morsels. This one was given to me by Tricia, head of
Food service for the Island Nursing Home.

1 egg
3 tablespoons canola oil or melted butter
1 cup liquids (usually ¾ cup clam juice and ¼ cup milk)
1 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Salt to taste, start with ½ teaspoon
1 cup finely chopped clams (use food processor)

In your measuring cup, whisk together the egg, oil or butter and liquids. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the liquids and fold in the clams. The batter should be thick…like a thick muffin or cake batter.

Preheat at least 2 inches of oil to 370 degrees. Drop tablespoons of the batter in the oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, turning with tongs. Drain on paper towels and taste the first fritter for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper to the batter if necessary. Continue to fry a few fritters at a time until done. Makes about 36 fritters.

Clam notes: The best clams to use are quahogs…or what some folks on the island call hen clams, a very large, meaty clam. These clams are dug during a very low, low tide, when the moon is either new or full. The combination of the right weather, day light and tide yield only about 6 times a year we can harvest these clams. When we do, I freeze one cup jars of clams to make fritters all year!

APPLE GINGERBREAD SNACK CAKES
This is a wonderful snack based on a very old recipe for hot-water
gingerbread. The chopped apples give these cakes extra moistness
and a wonderful flavor. Apple Gingerbread Snack Cakes freeze well also.

¼ cup canola oil
½ cup applesauce
1 egg
¾ cup molasses
1 cup hot water

2 ½ cups whole meal flour (available in health food stores or use whole wheat)*
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

3 medium apples, cored, unpeeled, chopped in the food processor

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease or spray 60 mini muffin tins or a 9” by 13” baking pan.

In a small bowl, beat together the canola oil, applesauce, egg, and molasses. Set aside. In a large bowl, stir together the whole meal flour, cinnamon, ginger and baking soda. Fold in the chopped apples. Mix in the molasses mixture, then stir in the one cup of hot water. Bake in 375 degree oven until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15 – 20 minutes. Let cool on a rack for a few minutes, then remove from the muffin tin. Makes 60 mini muffins. Bake about 40 – 45 minutes for cake.

Nutritional analysis per muffin serving: 44 calories, 1 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, 1 grams fat (0 grams trans fat), 36 mg. sodium, 1 grams fiber.
.
* Whole meal flour is made by grinding grain (wheat berries) and contains the germ and bran of the wheat. It can often be purchased in health food stores, or you may substitute whole-wheat flour.

Corn Bread

1 cup freshly ground corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
Whisk together in a large bowl.

1/4 cup Maine maple syrup
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter or canola oil
Whisk together in a small bowl.
Stir into dry ingredients. Spoon batter into a greased 8″ by 8″ glass pan. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Serve with farm butter and jam.

Corn Bread makes a great breakfast treat when slices are split in half and grilled.

Tomato News

Visiting my mother this week-end, and looked thru the March issue of Martha Stewart’s Living magazine. An article on tomato tasting caught my eye…no wonder! It was written by Barbara Damrosch….a peninsula neighbor….she and her husband, Eliot Coleman, have Four Seasons Farm….best part was the tomato tasting notes. The variety Goldman’s Italian American, FLAVOR sweet, fruity, complex GOOD FOR sauces or slicing.

some excellent notes on 12 other varieties, and seed sources.

Can hardly wait to start growing!

Holli’s Pantry inventory

Our new farmers-in-residence at the common ground in Unity moved in this past December. As they didn’t have the opportunity to grow crops, I wanted to know what they were eating this winter. Holli told me they bought in roots for the cellar, and that she was big preserver. I guess so! Here is what she sent to me.
Enjoy!

Hello Cheryl-

The following is my canned goods inventory for the 2009 growing season. As you can tell, I really like sour and spicy things! Anyways, the list details (to the best of my memory) what I put by and what I have left is about 2/3 for the fruits and less on everything else.

Peach Chutney (pint and 1/2-pint jars)- 14
Spicy & not-spicy Crabapple-Leek Chutney (pint and 1/2-pint jars)-32
Zucchini Relish (1/2-pint jars)- 14
Jalapeno Salsa (1/2-pint jars)- 7
Chili Sauce (1/2-pint jars)- 6
Peach Salsa (pint and 1/2-pint jars)- 12
Crushed Tomatoes (quarts)- 11
Spicy and plain Dilly Beans (quarts)- 10
Caraway and plain Pickled Beets (quarts and pints)- 12
Dill and Spicy Dill Pickles (quarts and pints)- 14
Strawberries (pints)- 25
Raspberries (pints)- 7
Peaches (pints)- 12
Blueberries (pints)- 12
Applesauce (pints)- 14
Pickled Hot Peppers (pints)- 14
Carrot-Pepper Salsa (pints)- 10
Spicy and plain Corn Relish (pints)- 12
Summer Squash Pickles (pints)- 6
Zeisty Salsa (pints)- 14
These numbers are slightly different than usual due to the weather last season–I did way less crushed tomatoes and salsa, and no tomato sauce, soup, or juice. I also did less applesauce and corn relish. And there were a few chutneys I missed out on. These numbers are based on a family of 2 with some anticipation of barter/gifts. I would be happy to share recipes of how I utilize my canned goodies to create tastey winter treats (we try to eat mostly local and draw heavily on our root cellar and eggs, and bought-in grains, beans, and dairy).

Let me know if you have any questions!

Holli

PMM’s Homemade crackers

Replacing the industrial crackers we used to eat with something local….a challenge! My husband, who is the master of the pasta machine, developed this as an alternative. We keep them in a glass jar on the counter, known as a cracker jar!

To prepare the dough, in the bowl of your bread machine:
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
2 teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons oil (olive, canola or sunflower)
1 1/2 cup whole meal flour (whole wheat or rye)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
set on pizza dough setting

Once dough cycle is complete, remove dough and punch down. divide dough into 8 pieces. Run each piece thru the pasta machine until thin. (PMM gets it down to the number 4 setting)
You should have a piece of dough about 4 inches wide and 2 feet long, give or take.
Using a pizza cutter, cut into cracker strips, each about 1 to 1 1/2 inch wide by 3 – 4 inches. Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven, turning over mid-way thru baking. Bake until golden brown. Cool on a rack and then store in an air-tight container.

Variations: Just before baking, sprinkle the tops of the crackers with salt or some salt and herbs. Add grated parmesan cheese to the dough. or pesto to the dough.

The beauty of these crackers is that you are limited by your imagination only! You could become your own cracker factory…..

Our Valentine’s 4 course supper

Sunset Acre Farms plain goat cheese covered with Nervous Nellie’s Hot Tomato Chutney and PMM’s homemade crackers

* * *

King Hill Farm Lamb chops smothered with garlic, rosemary, olive oil and grilled
roasted Yukon gold potatoes
frozen steamed broccoli with lemon juice and farm butter

* * *

celeraic, carrot, daikon, apple matchstick salad

* * *

molten chocolate cake
Quill’s End Farm jersey whipped cream

Time to get sprouting!

My friend Judy (the Queen of the Lobster fleet), noticed a plastic, 4-layer contraption with green things growing on my counter the other day. I was just getting ready to harvest some alfalfa sprouts, so I gave her a layer to take home and try.

Judy works hard this time of year to try and incorporate more nutritous foods into her diet, and sprouts are one of her favorites. As the winter wears on, we like sprouts too. Eating cabbage is getting a bit tiresome, and the greenhouse leafy greens just aren’t starting yet.

I grow my sprouts in a “Bioset Seed Sprouter.” They are available to purchase from the Johnny’s seed catalog and other on-line sources. I saw some in the Belfast Coop last week, which was where I picked up some new seeds and started sprouting.

I work sprouts into our cuisine in place of lettuce. Last night for supper I fixed myself a sprout and apple salad. In the center of my plate I spread thin layer of about a cup of sprouts. Then I sliced an apple, dipped it in California lemon juice, and spread the slices on top. In the bowl where I had dipped the apples, there was still some remaining lemon juice, which I then mixed with some softened blue cheese and a bit of olive oil. Spooned the dressing over the top and sprinkled the whole salad with toasted pecans. Yum! it was good enough to be dessert!

You don’t need the fancy Bioset to sprout seeds, I know folks that do it in a jar. I like the Bioset because it an easy way to make sure the seeds are adequately watered. Too much water and they mold and don’t germinate easily.

I’ve also found that using old seeds isn’t very effective either. They don’t seem to germinate at the same time, and your sprouts again get moldy.

I use a tablespoon of seeds for each of the three levels of the bioset where you grow the sprouts. Each layer gives me about one cup of sprouts when I harvest. I store them in a tupperware type container in my refrigerator, and they last for up to a week.

For best results, I water about twice a day. the beauty of the bioset is that the water drains through each layer down to the bottom catch basin. This way my sprout seeds are not “sitting” in stagnant water. I find the kitchen counter an ideal place to grow my sprouts, as they like a steady temperature of around 65 – 75 degrees. Depending upon the variety, they are usually ready to harvest in about 3 – 5 days. When I do grow a crop, it is always the same variety so I can harvest all at once, clean my sprouter thoroughly, and start again.

I’ve got a surprise for my friend Judy…her own personal seed sprouter and some alfalfa and broccoli seeds. Now she too will be able to get sprouting!

Rendering lard

The fat. The food police (aka nutritionists, and I’m sure they are well intentioned) had us switch from animal fats (butter, bacon fat and lard) to a diet of hydrogenated fats like margarine and whipped vegetable fat and oils like olive oil and canola oil. Then, research determined that hydrogenated fats were, gasp, not good for us…but we should still steer clear of animal fats…olive oil and canola oil were the best.

Well, when eating a local, seasonal, organic diet here in Maine, olive oil is hard to come by. Canola oil is now produced in the county, only in a limited amount. Butter, of course, is still an option. But how about lard?

The pig is a wonderful animal. Intelligent, neat, clean, and almost all body parts are usable. And I have half a pig, including body parts in my freezer.

Yesterday was a good day to render lard, as I was planning to be around to keep the fire going all day. My mother recalled her grandmother rendering lard, “used to make the house stink. Bad.” I suppose you could say it stinks. But to me, it was a good “fat” smell.

To render lard, one needs a heavy pot, a slow, steady flame, and some pork fat. With a sharp knife, remove the hide from the fat and cut into small pieces. My friend Deborah, who raises organic heritage pigs and has more experience with lard than I, grinds her fat. I chose the lazy route…but will definately try her procedure another time.

Place the chunks in the heavy pot and heat slowly, turning the pieces so they don’t stick on the bottom. It took most all day for the fat to melt, and all I had remaining were croutons of golden fat with bits of meat plus a pot full of liquid. These crouton-pieces are known as the cracklings…

After removing my cracklings to drain, I let the liquid cool a bit. Then I strained the remaining into a metal pail (years ago, every kitchen had a lard pail). The pail is now sitting on my counter, lard has solidified, and is ready to use. Because I didn’t clarify it or process it in any other way, I’ll need to use it quickly, or store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Right now, I’m going to keep it on my counter and see how much I work the product into our cuisine.

The very best lard, known as leaf lard, comes from the fat around the animals kidneys. It is prized by bakers. My lard isn’t leleaf…and it has a soft texture and stronger flavor. But it tastes good…as do the cracklings. It will be a new adventure for the taste buds!

Interview with Kyle

http://localisbetter.org