Speedy Miso Spinach Mushroom Ramen

So, anybody else get in eating ruts?  I’m sure you do, and every couple of months I get bored with the meals I’m preparing, especially in the winter when there’s not much fresh coming in and I just sort of panic every time I go to the grocery store because I don’t know where the food came from, how it was handled and treated, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I subscribe to a blog called “Vanilla and Bean” and she has some interesting recipes on there occasionally.  Recently there was a post for this noodle dish that looked interesting for a bowl full of comfort food during this last leg of winter.  The high tunnel is about finished but there is a little spinach hanging on and I was able to glean a bag of that, and a couple of days ago a walk through the mushroom corner yielded about 8 nike shiitake mushrooms, so that’s why the recipe caught my eye.

Ever buy stuff at the store thinking “hmmm that looks interesting”, get it home and can’t figure out what to do with it?  Well, miso was hanging out in my fridge just screaming “use me, use me” every time I opened the door.

This was it…..I used it!!

And it was good.

Here’s the recipe…… from Vanilla and Bean

A fast and hearty weeknight dinner. Speedy Miso Spinach Mushroom Ramen is packed with ginger, garlic, shiitake mushrooms and oodles of soba noodles! Vegan + Optionally GF

 Total Time 30 minutes

 Servings 6 Servings

 Author Traci York | Vanilla And Bean

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs Coconut Oil unrefined, virgin, cold pressed
• 12 oz (340g) Shiitake Mushrooms stems removed, sliced thin
• 1 Tbs Grated Ginger I use a microplane
• 1 Tbs Grated Garlic I use a microplane
• 4 Green Onions sliced thin, whites and green seperated
• 4 C (940g) Vegetable Broth
• 3 C (675g) Water
• 2 Tbs White Miso
• 2 Bundles (152g) Soba Noodles
• 5 C (95g) Baby Spinach
• Tamari, to taste

Serve With:

• Sesame seeds, Sriracha, fresh herbs such as basil or cilantro, tamari and more green onion tops

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven (non stick is very helpful here), heat oil until shimmering. Turn the heat down to medium low to low and add the mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and white parts of the onions. While the pot will be crowded, allow the bottom layer of mushrooms to cook for a few minutes before stirring. This will help the mushrooms sear a bit. Stir occassionally for about 6 minutes. You’ll notice the garlic and ginger stick to the bottom of the pot (but watch the heat because you don’t want the garlic and ginger to burn). Just scrape the garlic and ginger when you stir the mushrooms. When the broth is added, the pan will deglaze and those bits will add delicious flavor! Add the broth, water and miso and bring to a boil, mashing the miso to break it up. Once boiling add the noodles, turn down to medium and simmer for five minutes or until the noodles are tender. Taste for seasoning adjustment and add Tamari if a more salty taste is desired.

2. Ladle into soup bowls, top with a handful of spinach and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately with extra spinach, sesame seeds, sriracha, herbs, tamari and onion greens.

3. Store leftovers in a lidded container, in the refrigerator, for up to three days.

   Of course I never have all the ingredients, so instead of green onions I used regular onions and I buy organic ginger when I’m at Earth Fare in Knoxville and freeze it in 1″ sections.  That way I can take it out of the freezer and use it in recipes as needed.  I also used chicken stock because I have homemade chicken stock in the freezer.  I put a generous handful of spinach leaves in the bowl and poured the noodle mixture over it.

   I’m glad there’s leftovers…….

Here, chickie, chickie, there piggy, piggy, gone turkey, turkey,

Okay, so the title doesn’t make much sense…..yet.  Keep on reading….

It’s been a while since I last posted any updates here and it’s the same old excuse–I’m BUSY!!!!  This is a one-woman operation , you know, and the secretary has been busy cutting and splitting firewood, which leads me to explain “here, chickie, chickie”.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that I’m in the process of “harvesting” the three-year-old hens.  I lack about 8 being finished.  Well, one of the Amerecaunas has started cozying up to me, like following me all around the yard every where I go!  She doesn’t know that all the green eggers have free passes because I have no idea how old each of them are AND I don’t have but about 4 of them because if a hawk gets a chicken, it’s usually an amerecauna, for some odd reason.  Maybe they’re easier to pick up or something.

I was splitting firewood on Tuesday (with my secretary…lol) before Thanksgiving  and this chicken kept getting right under my feet.  Thank goodness she didn’t follow me to the other side of the farm where I was using the chainsaw.

“There, piggy, piggy”–wild hogs have invaded the farm.  A couple of weeks ago I had sent out an e-mail to the organical veggie list for a veggie drop on Wednesday.  I had gone to the large high tunnel Wednesday morning to harvest greens and whoa, nellie!  There were humps of soil 2 feet tall in the high tunnel and all around the outside of it.  The hogs were after all the goodies under the years of rotting leaves.  I put an electric fence up around the elderberry patch and the high tunnel, so then they proceeded to the herb and flower gardens.  The plants are still there, just a vast majority of them are buried.  I’ll uncover them as I can throughout the winter.  I haven’t seen any signs of them in the last few days, so maybe, just maybe, they made it into someone’s freezer.

Gone, turkey, turkey should be pretty self explanatory, EXCEPT I made the best dressing.  ever.  I thought so, anyway.  I melted a 2″ chunk of butter, sauteed a chopped onion, chopped celery, about 9 cloves of garlic, a handful of jerusalem artichokes, a couple of chopped carrots, a Wild Things Farm homegrown shiitake mushroom that had been chopped, and a handful of walnuts.

I made a pan of cornbread after I put the fire out in my oven–yes there were actually flames from some milk that I scalded all over the stovetop (that’s the first step in making homemade yogurt, you know, to scald the milk and see just how much of a mess a quart of milk will make when it creeps out of the pot) and into the pan under the eyes and obviously into the oven as well.    I thought the smoke detector was going off because of the hot oil I was preparing to put the cornbread batter in, but actually it detected the fire in the bottom of the oven.

After cleaning the oven and airing both it and the house out for half an hour or so, I baked the cornbread and crumbled it, along with a few slices of whole wheat bread, and moistened it with broth, then added the other ingredients.  It was then placed in a baking pan and baked for about 30 minutes.  Mmmmmm…….. good!

So, along with all the other veggies and goodies we had at the Thanksgiving table, turkey be gone, gone, gone!

Okay, that’s enough external stimulation from this hoer today.  Till next time…….please eat your greens!

 

Smart Layering

A week or so ago I was perusing the “Parade” section of our local newspaper and ran across a great article for take-it-with-you lunches that utilize a lot of fresh veggies from the garden AND provide you with a healthy lunch….here’s the link:

http://www.parade.com/250582/sarahdigregorio/smart-layering-stack-up-a-make-ahead-portable-lunch/

Stay warm!

 

Open Farm Day

The weather couldn’t have been better for today’s Open Farm.  Although I’ve hosted several Open Farm days for the CSA members, this one was for both members and customers of the “Organical Veggie List”.  Visitors got to pet Hattie and Lucy (the dogs), love on Smoky and Bandit (the cats) and we were mildly entertained by the Happy Hens.

Unfortunately my camera is still laying on the counter in the kitchen, untouched during the days’ festivities.   Just imagine the fresh greens in the high tunnels, gorgeous blue skies, Christmas lights in the house……there, you can see it.

Several tie-dye shirts found new homes, I have a feeling that many tubes of soothing lip balm are going to be in stockings this year, as will the awesome handmade soap bars that flew out the door!

The real reason for this communication is to pass along recipes for some of the snacks that folks asked for.  The spinach balls were a big hit and they would be well served in a bun warmer to keep them warm while on the table.  This recipe is from a cookbook from a Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs cookbook, sponsored by Historic Racheff House and Gardens.  I got suckered….uh….persuaded to buy the book when I was Pres of the Fairfield Glade Garden Club.  It’s actually a pretty good book.  Here’s the recipe:

Spinach Balls

2 (10 oz) pkgs frozen spinach
2 medium onions (1 cup finely chopped)
2-2-1/2 cups stuffing mix
6 medium eggs (I used Fresh Eggs from the Happy Hens)
3/4 cup melted margarine (I used butter)
1-1/2 tsp thyme
1-1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 large garlic clove, crushed

Cook spinach and drain well.  Use paper towels to help dry spinach.  (I pressed it into a sieve to get all the liquid out.)  Combine all ingredients and mix well–I used my mixer.  Refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight.  Form into about 1 inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake in 350 degree oven for app 20 minutes or until lightly browned.  After baking, balls may be frozen and reheated in oven at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes.

The next favorite recipe was from the same cookbook and this one came from Moira Kay, WBIR TV co-anchor.

Sweet Vidalia Onion Cheese Dip

2 lg Vidalia or sweet onions, chopped (I used sweet onions)
1 cup reduced fat mayonnaise (I used regular)
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1-1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Grease baking dish.  Preheat oven to 375.  Mix onions, mayonnaise, cheese and Worcestershire sauce.  Turn into baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.  Serve warm with crackers or chips (I used tortilla chips).  I kept the dish on the stove eye on low while everyone dipped and munched, but my stove is very handy to the traffic pattern in the kitchen.  A hot plate would work well also, but it needs to be served hot.

Lastly, is the homemade pimento cheese.  I had clipped this recipe from a Southern Living magazine several years ago.  It’s called:

Our Favorite Pimento Cheese

Make the mayo mixture:  In a large bowl stir together 1-1/2 cups mayonnaise, 1 (4 oz) jar pimentos, well drained, 1 tsp worcestershire sauce, 1tsp finely grated onion, and 1/4 tsp ground red pepper.    Mix well.

Toast the pecans (I used walnuts):  Toasting brings out the rich flavor of the nuts.  Preheat oven to 350.  Bake 1 cup nuts in a single layer in a shallow pan for 8-10 minutes or until tasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.

Shred the cheese:  Using the small side of a box grater, grate 8 ounces of extra sharp cheddar.  Then use the large side of the grater to grate an 8 ounce block of sharp cheddar.  (I cheated and used packaged shredded, but “they” say that fresh shredded really makes a difference.  I’ll try that next time.)

Stir together and enjoy.  It may be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.

No one asked for the recipe for the M&M’s or Nutter-Butters, but then I don’t think anyone tried them either 🙂  That’s all for now–I’m going to put my feet up for a while!

Swiss Chard with spaghetti

Everyone is always looking for new ways to prepare fresh veggies.  Well, some of the most tasty ways to prepare them is to simply add them to dishes that we prepare frequently…..like spaghetti!

There was a bag of swiss chard in the fridge that needed to be out of the fridge on on my plate, but I was craving carbs….comfort food…..so, why not combine the two?

I first made the sauce using sweet mild Italian sausage and the usual sauce recipe.  Then I took out a good sized handful of chard, washed and dried it with paper towels–I didn’t want it running in the plate–

 

Then I stacked the leaves on top of each other and sliced them into thin slices–I tossed the bigger stems into the bucket of scraps for the Happy Hens.

 

Heat a small skillet of olive oil with a tad of garlic then drop the chard into the pan and stir around until the chard is wilted–about 8-10 minutes or so.

Put the spaghetti noodles on your plate, put the chard on the noodles, then top with the sauce.  I had some asiago cheese in the fridge that I shredded on top.

This was a great way to include a helping of healthy veggies in an otherwise “normal” dish.  Yay!!!!

 

Greens and Barley Salad

It’s amazing how many different flavors you can get from a bowl of greens.  During the winter there are assorted greens growing in the high tunnel and I’m always looking for different flavors to keep the greens interesting to the tastebuds.

The April issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine had an interesting recipe that I tried yesterday.  The barley in the recipe is what really did the trick.

Greens and Barley Salad

4 cups assorted greens such as baby bok choy, endive, radicchio, and/or butter lettuce (Okay, I used spinach and baby Swiss chard–close enough :-))
1/2 head cauliflower, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
2 carrots, peeled and then sliced into ribbons with a peeler
1/2 cup cooked barley
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (I used lime)
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp nutmeg (I didn’t have any of this)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 handful of toasted walnuts (you have to burn the 1st batch then do the second one perfectly)

In a large bowl combine the vegetables and barley.  I sort of kept the barley together on one side and the veggies on the other so I could taste them separately.  I also had a few cherry tomatoes that were “on their last leg” so I threw them in the bowl as well.

Mix the lemon or lime joice, honey, and the paprika, nutmeg and cayenne in a jar with a screw-top lid.  Shake well then pour over the greens and top with walnuts.  YUM!  This is a keeper.

Delicious quiche recipe

The Happy Hens are really laying a lot of eggs now so I thought it was a great time to try a new quiche recipe.  The spinach hadn’t recovered from the last harvest sufficiently to include in the recipe, so I went to my favorite recipe site, Allrecipes.com and found this yummy recipe that will be made again.  I took it to my parents’ house and my Dad ate it for two meals and Mom wanted the recipe–it’s a keeper.

8 oz bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
9″ pie crust (popped out of the foil pan and into a glass pie plate)
2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterey Jack (I used pepper jack) shredded
3 T all purpose flour
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup diced onion
1-4 oz can diced green chiles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Crumble the bacon bits onto the bottom of the pie crust.  Combine cheese and flour and stir to coat cheese with flour.  In a separate bowl mix eggs, half and half, onion, and chiles.  Add the cheese and stir well.  Pour into crust–it will be full–full-full.  I put the pie plate on a cookie sheet and a little ran over but not much.  Bake 60-70 minutes or until firm.  Mine was done in 45 minutes but my oven runs hot.

Let it stand for 10 minutes.  A slice of this and a salad is quite filling–it’s good for breakfast too!

Note:  If your husband/boyfriend/significant other won’t eat things they can’t pronounce, the other name for this recipe is “Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Pie”.

Homemade granola

Today’s one of those days that one needs a boat to navigate around outdoors.  It’s pouring rain but the chickens are out wandering around in the rain–go figure…..

While I’m hold up in the house I decided to replenish my homemade granola supply.  My go-to breakfast every morning is yogurt with fruit and granola on top.  I’ve made my own a few times in an attempt to reduce the amount of crap I can’t pronounce going into my mouth, and it’s not hard to make.  The hardest part is finding all the ingredients in Small Town USA.  We do have a couple of health food stores that are proving to be a good source for hard-to-find “healthy” food items.

Every time I make this recipe I tweek it just a little bit, but it always turns out yummy….that is unless I get distracted while baking it and it ummm, gets a little dark 🙂

Here’s the basic recipe:  (from Allrecipes.com)

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup flax seed meal (I used 1-1/2 cups wheat germ because I didn’t have any flax
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I omit this)
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil (I used grapeseed oil–why?  because I didn’t have any canola oil)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Mix all the wet stuff together in a separate bowl, using a fork or a whisk.  Pour the wet onto the dry and toss to coat all the dry ingredients.  Place in a greased 9×13 or 11×7 inch baking pan.  (I used a large jelly roll pan) that is greased well (sprayed with non-stick spray).  Set the timer for 15 minutes and every 15 minutes stir everything around really well.  Mine usually cooks in about 45 minutes but the recipe calls for an hour or until it’s golden brown.  Let it cool completely then store in an airtight container.  I keep mine in a big glass gallon jar……yummy!

Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Fritters

We’ve spent most of our lives being told to “eat your vegetables” and now that we are, we’re being told to “eat your green vegetables”.  For years and years I tried to act as though I liked greens (spinach, turnip, chard, kale, mustard) in the cooked stage, but it was all an act.  Having been raised on canned food both at school and at home, greens were just a slimy mass that required vinegar poured on them to make them palatable enough (huh?) to go down.

In my opinion, anything that requires vinegar in order to make it palatable shouldn’t be eaten anyway.  Enter fresh greens…….

Although I’m still struggling with the texture of a bowl of cooked, steamed sauteed or otherwise heated up greens, it is definitely getting better.  I actually lightly steamed/cooked some fresh kale in beef broth a couple of months ago and it was DELICIOUS!  I since haven’t been able to duplicate the event.

The menu for supper was all lined out the other night, but something green was absent from the list, so I ventured into the garden, picked a small bunch of Swiss Chard, medium sized leaves, and headed back to the kitchen.

Here’s the recipe:

9-10 leaves of Swiss Chard, medium size (about 2 cups cut into thin shreds)

2 small sweet potatoes (about 1-1/2 cups grated)

1 egg

1 Tablespoon oil

T Tablespoon or so of flour

a couple of teaspoons of honey

salt and pepper to taste

Put the oil in a large nonstick skillet and turn on medium heat.  Mix the grated sweet potato and shredded chard in a bowl and add the egg and flour, honey and salt and pepper.  Mix thoroughly.  Drop by big spoonfuls onto the pan (oil should sizzle when mixture is added) and mash out into fritters about 4″ in diameter.  Let them cook on one side until browning and crispy then flip over and finish cooking on the other side.  Drain on paper towels and enjoy hot!  Actually, when I cleaned up the pan most of the oil was still in there.

Yet another yummy way to enjoy those all nutritious green veggies!

 

Eggplant Chile Rellenos

Ok, I finally did it–made “vegetarian” chile rellenos and they were actually quite tasty.   Through the years I’ve had eggplant fixed two different ways:  eggplant parmesan or breaded and fried.  It’s great both ways, but boring.  I subscribe to a blog called My New Roots and this lady comes up with some really interesting ways to prepare veggies.  She uses eggplant as a neutral base for other flavors much as you would rice or pasta.  Because it is sort of bland it soaks up other flavors nicely.

The ingredients in this dish are:

1 eggplant prepared and chopped (see below)

1/2 onion, chopped

2 Anaheim Chiles halved lengthwise and seeded

dash of cumin

4 small flour tortillas

oil for sauteeing

Monterrey Jack (or similar) cheese

Sour cream or cream cheese

splash of milk

The first step in making this dish is to peel and slice the eggplant then salt it really well and set aside for about 20 minutes.  This causes a lot of the moisture to come out of the eggplant then you take paper towels and dry it off.  Pulse the eggplant in a food processor until the consistency of ground meat (see where I’m going now?)

In a pan saute some chopped onion and a little garlic.  I also put the anaheim chiles in this pan to soften up a bit before placing in tortillas.  After the onion is soft, add the eggplant and a dash of cumin, salt and pepper to taste.   I stirred this around for about 8-10 minutes to get more moisture out.  When you’re satisfied with this conglomeration, heat up just a tad of oil in a frying pan large enough to accommodate two tortillas and spread out a chile pepper on one of the tortillas.  Add eggplant mixture and top with cheese (I used Cracker Barrel Aged Reserve cheese–YUMMY!) then top with the other tortilla.  Place in pan on medium low heat until that side is browning then flip it over and repeat.

I made a sauce with some of the cheese, a dollop of whipped cream cheese and a splash of milk, then topped it with some freshly made salsa.

Very tasty.

Footnote:  The Cracker Barrel Aged Reserve cheese AND the whipped cream cheese was purchased at a local grocery stored called United Grocery Outlet or UGO.   The cream cheese was 50 cents a cup and the cheddar cheese was $1.29!   If one were purchasing cheese for this dish I’d say Monterey Jack would work and sour cream would work in the sauce–HOWEVER if you’ve been reading my recipes very much you’ll know that I never have everything in the pantry that a recipe calls for so improvising is one of my strong points!