December! And a Restaurant Review

And she's back!

Sorry if I scared you.  I'm still here, and I'm still eating locally.  I took November off to participate in National Novel Writing Month (if you're not familiar, check it out here and consider participating next year.  It's a pretty good time.)

I didn't finish my novel, and what I did write is pretty terrible, but that's okay.  The point of NaNoWriMo isn't to write the next best seller, it's just to encourage creativity.  And I feel like it's done it's job!  I've returned to you refreshed, reinvigorated, and with a new twist.

This year's harvest, and off of only two plants!
Imagine what I could do with a whole farm!!

I will admit that my new twist isn't totally coming from any new burst of creativity. In fact, it's a very practical, necessity driven twist.  You see, my car just kicked it something serious.  Which created the need for me to purchase a new car.  And I don't have money for a new car.  Also, I'm starting to think that it might be time to just give up and become an organic pumpkin farmer.  Which means buying a farm.  And if I don't have money for a new car, you'd better believe I don't have money to buy an organic pumpkin farm.

(Sidebar: should I do an organic pumpkin farm kickstarter?  Would anyone send me money?  I could have pumpkin dinners and pumpkins for life as the rewards!  No?  Okay...)


So it's time to start saving the money.  Looking at my budget, it's clear where I spend most of my money - Food.

I know I keep writing that you can do the locavore/organic thing on a budget if you're willing to put in the time.  Well I put in the time, but I've never really needed to force myself to stick to the budget.  But if I'm going to tell you that you can do it, I should probably prove it too.

So here we go.

Now this isn't really going to be a fair challenge.  By that I mean, you're not going to be able to play along at home.  I've got a lot of food squirreled away in my house from this past summer (and a little still from last summer!) along with a fair chunk of beef in my freezer.  So the goal is to eat as much of that as possible while also buying as little as possible and still being happy with my meal choices.  So unless you canned everything I did this year, you won't be able to follow the recipes and save money along with me.  But, maybe you'll get some inspiration for canning next year.

Guess what else I did in November.  (Warning: abrupt change in subject).  The list so far: bought a car, wrote 3/4ths of a crappy novel, and loosely decided on a future career change to pumpkin farmer).  I went to Nashville.  It was kind of cold, which was disappointing.  We saw lots of music, walked around the city, went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and toured the Grand Ole Oppry.  And because I'm me, we went to two farm-to-table restaurants and a farmer's market.

The first restaurant, the Capitol Grill, was nice.  I mean really, really, really nice.  Fancy.  According to the menu, all of the vegetables were grown five miles away in the chef's garden.  Pretty cool.  But, while the food was good, it wasn't spectacular.  Frankly, the pumpkin that I had as the side to my pork loin wasn't better than the pumpkin I made for Thanksgiving, which is a little disappointing when you're paying so much for a meal.  I'm not saying it wasn't good.  I'm just saying it might not have been worth the price tag.

The second restaurant, Lockeland Table, was a new restaurant that had been recommended to me by a friend who used to live in Nashville but now lives in Madison.  She knows the owners, and therefore is a little biased, but now I'm biased too... because it was FANTASTIC!  My current top three restaurants are 1. Braise in Milwaukee, WI; 2. Graze in Madison, WI; and 3. Lockeland table in Nashville TN.

We started out with a cheese platter: Two cheeses from TN and one from WI (I know...).  The goat cheese (from TN) was quite possibly the best goat I've ever had.  And I enjoy a fine goat cheese!

Jeff had a pizza - the pig - loaded with all kinds of pork products, while I got two appetizers - the shrimp and pork dumplings and the bone marrow.  No complaints on all three.  The dumplings were a little spicy, which is perfect for me but if that's not your thing be warned.  The marrow was, as it should be, meat butter!  To appetizers was not quite enough for me for dinner, but the pizza was huge and I got a slice of that too.  Ending with a chocolate pot-de-creme, it was at least as good (probably a good deal better) than the Capital Grill, and half the price!  And that was including the fact that we got more drinks at Lockeland Table, and a dessert, both of which were passed up at the Capitol Grill due to the high price tag.

Mmmm... meat butter.  And a salad to make
you feel good about yoursel

The farmer's market, which is open 362 days of the year (a big deal to me here in WI), was pretty extensive.  If you are familiar with the Milwaukee area, I would say that it was about the size of three Public Markets: one totally devoted to a traditional farmer's market, one more Public Market like with prepared food vendors and an awe-inspiring and also slightly terrifying Indian grocery store, and a third building that held a flea market.

We went on a Sunday, and were later told that we should have gone on Saturday because it's a lot busier.  Still, the farmer's market area had only a few empty stalls.  Must be nice to have a year-long growing season!

While I easily could have loaded up the trunk of our car (it was cold enough!) I instead settled on two kinds of local honey, a TN pumpkin (I like pumpkins, and I'm interested in seeing the difference.  Plus it was pretty.), and a giant butternut squash.  Really.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this.

Buckets and buckets of butternut squash soup...

I did come home to one sad fact.  When I got home and checked on my stored squash, I found that one of my regular sized butternut squashes had a bad spot, had started to spoil, and had "infected" almost all of my buttercup squash.  I pulled all the bad ones out, chopped up the bad spots, and made myself 14 cups of squash puree.  So now that's on the menu!

I feel like this doesn't even require I recipe, but here goes:

Squash Puree
 

• Squash.  Any type and quantity

 Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Using a sharp, sturdy knife, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Peel the squash (using the knife, not a vegetable peeler!) and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the squash is soft.  (You could also just cut the squash in half and bake it like that, then scoop it out of the skin.  You'd have to bake it longer, but you wouldn't have to put in the work of peeling the darn thing).

Transfer to a food processor in batches and puree until smooth.

Transfer to freezer safe bags and freeze in 1 cup servings, or whatever you think you'll use.

I didn't add any flavorings (salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, etc.) because I want to be able to control that based on the recipe.  But you certainly could add those things upfront if you wanted flavored squash.

Eat Local Milwaukee, Week 2

How did week one of the Eat Local Milwaukee Challenge go?  Did you find some new local food that you like?  Did you work one more local salad into your dinners?  Did you pick up some local tomatoes and realize they taste SO MUCH BETTER than those fake tomatoes you get at the grocery store?

Or did you visit a locally sourced restaurant and use the opportunity to let them do the cooking? Did you grab a local beverage?

I hope you were able to find something new.  I was excited to check out Lagniappe Brasserie and La Merenda, and enjoy some local food that I didn't have to cook.  As per usual, the food was far too good for me to have pictures.  I would, in fact, be the worst food writer ever, because the food is gone and then I'm like, "oh, crap, I should have taken a picture of that.  Boy it was good.  Wish I could show my readers how pretty it was..."

Are you ready for week two?

It's still summer, and it's still warm, but the air has that fall feel about it.  Today I even put on a sweatshirt because I was chilly.  Riding my scooter home from work on Thursday, I was even cold.

I love fall.  Fall, to me, is the food season.  Spring is great, because there's finally something fresh to eat, but your choices are limited.  Summer is full of food, but there's not that much to write about - throw some meat on the grill, slice up some raw veggies and you've got yourself a meal.  Winter... well winter is just about not starving to death.

But fall...

Fall has got plenty of food - It's harvest season after all - but it also allows real cooking.  Not that the grill isn't real, but it's not the same as a braise.  It's not the same as baking.  Fall is the season of tomatoes, and squash, and heavy greens like kale, and soup.  It's the time for meals that take hours of cooking, because you want your oven on for hours, and because you're not too warn down from the cold and dark of winter to even want to cook.

So, to usher in the unofficial first week of fall (I totally support the equinox here, it's extremely important to me.  Labor day does not = fall!), and the fact that I got to wear leg warmers yesterday, the second week of the Eat Local Milwaukee Challenge features some more fall-ish treats.

This week, my CSA box included:

• The most beautiful head of lettuce I've ever seen
• Leaf lettuce
• Spinach
• Beans
• Beets and their greens
• Leeks
• Eggs
• Peppers (hot and bell)
• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Kale
• Carrots
• Dill
• Parsley

Don't forget, we already figured out that this box cost me about $13.

I cooked up and froze the beets, beet greens, and their kale.  The carrots will be canned tomorrow, and I made a HUGE salad to go with my fritatta tonight.

The menu for the second week of the Eat Local Challenge, if you're playing along:

• Saturday: Steak Salad
• Pick up whatever stuff you want for a salad, and as fancy or cheap of a steak as you're feeling.  NY Strip is great on a salad.  So is a skirt steak.  Spend your money on what you think is important!  I personally will be using my #1 favorite steak: flat iron.
• Sunday: Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
• No, you didn't miss it.  There's no spaghetti squash in my CSA box this week.  But there is quite a good deal of it ready to be picked in my garden.  Along with about 6 giant blue pumpkins!
• Split the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds (you can absolutely wash and bake up the seeds just like pumpkin seeds.  Anyone who has carved pumpkins with me knows that I'm only in it for the seeds, so this is an exciting proposition for me.)  Drizzle generously in olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until it is soft but still a little crunchy (don't let it get soggy).  Once it is done, run a fork gently through the spaghetti squash to pull it into the strings from whence it gets it's name (whence!). 
• While the squash is cooking, cook about 1/2 lb of bacon over medium heat until it becomes a light brown but is not yet crispy. Pour off most of the fat and then add about 1 tbsp minced shallots and 2 tsp minced garlic. Saute for 1 minute until the garlic and shallots are fragrant. Add the 1/4 cup white wine and cook until the liquid has completely evaporated.
•  In a medium bowl, whisk together two egg yolks and one whole egg, eggs together with 1 cup Parmesan cheese and two tablespoons chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the eggs with the bacon mixture, warming the eggs in the pan. (Do not let the eggs cook through.) Add the spaghetti squash and toss to thoroughly combine and until squash is heated through. Adjust seasoning, if necessary and serve immediately.
• Monday:  Date night!  Head out for some local food!
• Tuesday: Slow Cooked Rotisserie Chicken
• Season it as you want, and have it waiting for you when you get home from work!  I do recommend the brine, because without it the chicken gets a little dry.  Throw some potatoes in the bottom of the slow cooker and have a full blown meal waiting for you.
• Wednesday: Stuffed Peppers
• Save a chicken breast from Tuesday.  Combine with some cooked local Orzo pasta (pick it up at Outpost), whatever veggies you've got in your fridge, and some local feta cheese from the Clock Shadow Creamery.  Mix together, and stuff into some bell peppers.  Throw the whole thing on the grill for about 10 minutes on each side, or until the inside is hot and the outside is nicely charred.  If you've got especially big peppers, you might want to heat up the stuffing before putting it in the peppers.
• Thursday: Turkey Soup
• I've got some frozen turkey in my freezer that I think is actually from way back last Christmas.  Time to get that used up already!  So I'm going to make a turkey noodle soup with that, the Orzo I bought for Wednesday, and some yellow squash that's already in my fridge.  But, since I can't count on your having stockpiled almost year old turkey in your freezer, why not try the Turkey Cherry Chili that didn't make it into the cherry contest!  Make it a little end-of-summerier and add some corn.
• Friday: Fish Boil
• What is more local, Wisconsin, Fall food than a good old traditional Door County Fish Boil.  You can make it in your kitchen no problem - just don't use the gasoline/boil over trick!  When you're at Outpost on Wednesday, pick up some Rushing Waters Rainbow Trout, and why not try the fish boil seasonings available at The Spice House.

As always, let me know if there's anything I can do!  Enjoy your local eating!

Put Up or Shut Up: Episode 3 - Zucchini

Looking up articles on the internet for preserving zucchini, I found they all started something like this:

The main downside to zucchini is just how much zucchini you can wind up getting off of one plant. If you've ever grown zucchini (or you've lived next door to someone who grew zucchini), you know that you can quickly find yourself leaving bags of zucchini on your friends' front porches just to keep up with what's growing in your garden.

or


In the late summer when I was growing up, brown paper bags filled with zucchini used to magically appear on our front stoop. Backyard gardeners in my neighborhood would have such a large crop of zucchini that anonymous zucchini drop-offs were the only solution to getting rid of it.

or

The season of zucchini overabundance will soon be here. Before you resort to unloading your surplus in unlocked cars and empty mailboxes...

Really?

It's not as serious as all that, people.

And yet, when my CSA sent an email stating that vine boring beetles had demolished their zucchini crop, I found myself wondering if I could just sneak a courgette into each of the member's boxes without anyone noticing.

Okay, I don't have quite that much.

Like rhubarb, I actually feel the best way to preserve zucchini is to freeze it.  Grate it up, and stick it in one cup balls into the freezer.  When I grate it, I also like to throw it into a colander and let it's own weight press out some of the water.  I don't go out of my way to squeeze all the water out, because the water is going to help it in the freezer anyway, but there is a lot of water so it's nice to get some of it out.

In the winter, then, you can use the zucchini in anything that you would bake with zucchini - bread, muffins, cookies, etc.  You can also throw it into a stew.  One of my personal favorites uses is in a zucchini fritter, which I discovered in March.  I was just looking for a way to use up the zucchini I had frozen the previous summer, and I found a recipe that is going to become a winter staple for me.  In the winter, when it's almost impossible to get a fresh vegetable, this is something that really tastes like zucchini.  And it's deep fried, which is always a bonus.

Finished Zucchini Pickles

You can also make zucchini pickles, which I made last year and which are good but not great.  I adore a pickle (you may have noticed) and these were not something I would have just eaten on their own.  They tasted to much like a regular cucumber pickle, but weren't as good as a regular cucumber pickle.  They were a nice addition to a picked item plate, so I am including a recipe for both regular and spicy zucchini pickles. I'd recommend a jar or two, but don't overdo it.


A big success from the canning last year was the zucchini relish.  It's like pickle relish, but with zucchini.  Pickle relish is a little scary when you buy it from the store - what with the bright green, not found in nature color, and I found this to be much tastier.  To be fair, I have not tried to make my own pickle relish, so I'm not really comparing apples to apples.  This was again a spicier version, which I appreciate.  It's a nice addition to a sausage in the middle of the winter - especially a richer sausage (like one with cheese!) because the sweet and spicy notes cut through the heaviness nicely.

This year, I will be making the same pickle relish, probably in a larger quantity than last year.  I also am currently in the process of making the same relish but with yellow squash instead of zucchini.  I feel like it should taste about exactly the same, just a different color.  Maybe a little sweeter, too.  We will see, and I will report back.

The yellow squash relish needs to sit for a day. 
Go ahead and click on the link to get the recipe.
For this version, I just substituted yellow squash
for the zucchini, and used green peppers instead
of red.

Finished zucchini relish from last season

Along the lines of yellow summer squash, I had a new addition to the canning repertoire this summer.  I made summer squash and onions.  While I haven't busted it open and tried any yet, I feel like it should be a good winter side dish - maybe with a baked chicken.

The summer squashes can be overwhelming, but there's no need to abandon them on neighbors doorsteps. 

*Quick Side Note: There is some drama on the safety of canning summer squash and zucchini.  According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation:

Why is canning summer squash or zucchini not recommended?
Recommendations for canning summer squashes, including zucchini, that appeared in former editions of So Easy to Preserve or USDA bulletins have been withdrawn due to uncertainty about the determination of processing times. Squashes are low-acid vegetables and require pressure canning for a known period of time that will destroy the bacteria that cause botulism. Documentation for the previous processing times cannot be found, and reports that are available do not support the old process. Slices or cubes of cooked summer squash will get quite soft and pack tightly into the jars. The amount of squash filled into a jar will affect the heating pattern in that jar. It is best to freeze summer squashes or pickle them for canning, but they may also be dried.

 Here's what I took away from that: "OR PICKLED THEM FOR CANNING."  That would make me think pickling is okay.  Other internet sources say no canning no way!  So, use your best judgement.  If you pop open any canned good and it smells weird, has discolored spots, or is growing the mold, don't eat it.  Botulism may be a funny word, but it is not a funny illness. 

Pretty, yes.  Delicious?  No.

One note on the passage from the NCHFP - I did try drying the zucchini and I found it to be a huge disappointment.  I made dehydrated zucchini chips and I was not a fan.  Despite being all the way dried and pretty thin, they weren't very crispy and seemed stale immediately upon coming out of the dehydrator.  Also, despite putting them in an airtight jar, they seemed to get a little weird after only one day.  Looking into it further, I found that you were supposed to refrigerate or freeze dried zucchini.  If that's the case, what's the point in dehydrating it?  The only thing that I could see and might do is dehydrating some bigger chunks to rehydrate later in a stew.  But, I don't generally feel the need to put zucchini in a stew - it doesn't have a strong flavor so I don't feel like it adds that much.  So I probably won't do that unless I decide that I have enough grated zucchini to make zucchini bread and zucchini fritters every weekend all winter long.

Before making either of these recipes, please notice that they both have massive quantities of salt (which does get washed off after soaking).  If you don't, you might have a reasonable amount of salt on hand and start making the recipes, only to have to run to the store late at night to buy salt.  Even though you were JUST there to buy vinegar.  And even though you HATE that grocery store, because the check out people insist on judging your food, and that one time you saw a mouse, but it's the only store that's open in the middle of the night.  Or maybe you're not like me, and you prepare prior to cooking.  Good for you.

Zucchini Pickles
(From Put em Up!)
Makes 6 pints

• 4 pounds summer squash and/or zucchini
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup salt
• 4 cups white vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled'

Trim the ends from the squash and cut into spears 1 inch shorter than pint jars.  Toss the squash and onion with the salt in a large bowl.  Cover with cold water and set aside for 2 hours.  Drain, rinse thoroughly, and drain again.

Pack the squash mixture into clean, hot pint jars, and add a clove of garlic to each jar.

Bring the vinegar, sugar, oregano, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf to a boil in a large, nonreactive saucepan.  Pour the hot brine over the vegetables to cover by 1/2 an inch.  Leave 1/2 inch of headspace between the top of the liquid and the lid.

Release any trapped air from the jars and wipe the rips clean.  Process for 30 minutes using the boiling water method.  After 30 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars rest in the water for five minutes.

Store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

For spicy zucchini peppers, cut three Thai chillies in half the long way.  Add 1/2 pepper to each jar with the garlic.  For slightly less spicy pickles, remove the seeds carefully (and don't touch your eyes afterward!) 

Finished yellow squash and onion relish

Squash and Onion Relish
(Also from Put Em Up!)
Makes 4 Pints 

• 2 pounds yellow squash, ends removed, diced
• 2 pounds yellow onions, diced
• 1 1/4 cups salt
• 3 cups distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary

Toss squash and onions with the salt in a large bowl.  Cover with cold water and set aside for two hours.  Drain, rinse thoroughly, and drain again.

Bring the vinegar, sugar, and rosemary to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Add the drained vegetables, return to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Ladle into clean, hot jars, covering the solids by 1/4 inch with liquid.  Leave 1/5 inch of headspace between the top of the lid and the lid.  Release trapped air and wipe the rims clean.  Process for 15 minutes using the boiling water method.  Turn off heat, remove canner lid, and let the jars rest in the water for five minutes.

Store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.

Is it Spring Yet?

Before starting this blog, I have a quick note:  Russia, where did you go?  Germany just passed 100 hits.  You're only at 84.  84!  Come on, Russia, I know you can do better!  Let's make a deal.  You click around and get your hits up to 100, and I will make Borscht.  I do love me some beets!



When I started this project, my goal was one year.  That one year mark is quickly approaching!  That's exciting in a sense, but I am in no way counting down the days.  As I said on day one, I haven't been depriving myself.  If I am craving a salmon fillet, I'm going to believe that it's because I'm lacking some Omega-3 fatty acids and my body is telling me that, and I'm going to go get me some salmon.  Not every week, but when I need it, I do cheat.  And I've been pretty open about that.

I'm also not running low on food.  I do recall a point when I first started this project when I couldn't find any food to eat.  It was meat and parsnips.  There weren't even any potatoes!  I know I'm not to that point in the year yet - because it hasn't been a full year yet - but I don't feel like things are nearly that bad.  It could be that I'm doing a better job at sourcing things, but it also could be that there is just more available.  It's hard to tell if I'm noticing things that were always there, or if things are starting to pop up.  Milwaukee has always been a little slow - maybe we're finally getting on board with the locavore movement.

Can I take partial credit?  Would that be wrong?  After all, I am an award winning food blogger.  No, my blog hasn't won any awards, but I won an award, and I blog... same thing, right?

I probably shouldn't take credit.  But I might anyway.  Just in my own mind if nothing else.

I don't expect my eating habits to change much once the one year mark is up.  More seafood for sure, obviously off of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Sustainability Guide.  Download the App.  It's a good time.  Another App to download, although it has nothing to do with this post, is ShopNoGMO.  It can help you avoid purchasing genetically modified food.  There's a lot of it, and it's sneaky.  It doesn't announce itself.

(True story, Monsanto - the company that develops and sells most genetically modified seeds - says that there's no reason to test their genetically modified seeds to see if they're safe for humans.  Their argument read like circular logic to me.  We don't test because there's no evidence that anything's wrong... which how could there be if no tests were done...?  But, hey, I'm no scientist, so what do I know?)

Anywho, I'm mostly just ready for it to be warm.  This has been a very mild winter in Wisconsin, but it seems even more draining than usual.  I think it's because there hasn't been any snow to play in.  Snow or be warm, damnit!

But I do have food to eat.  And, I feel that my meals over the past week or so have been leaning towards the warm weather side.  I was especially excited to try out my newly delivered sausages.  I made a Greek inspired Summer meal in the middle winter, and it tasted delicious.

It would have helped if I didn't need to put on a sweatshirt right after eating it because I was cold!

Gyro Sausage with Pickled Zucchini Relish, and Spicy Squash with Garlic Yoghurt

Actually, there's really no recipe here.  Bet the bolded title threw you off!  Heat up delicious gyro sausage (or whatever kind of brat you want).  Place on bun.  Top with delicious pickled zucchini relish.  You can also crumble on a little feta cheese, if you're feeling feisty.

I also made the same squash that I made for Christmas this year (last year?  This past Christmas.), but I made it in a pan instead of in the crock pot.  I really didn't notice a difference in flavor/texture/anything on the eating end.  I did notice a difference on the cooking end, when I dropped the squash into the slightly too hot oil and got grease burns all over my face.  And, instead of being smart and going and washing off my face or sticking my face in the freezer or anything else to make it stop burning, I just hopped around the kitchen going "AHHHHH!!! HOT!" while my pets stared on confused.  It's a good thing I wear glasses, or I might be blind right now.  This, by the way, is not a part of the recipe.  Don't follow this step.

Other than that, though, I thought the squash came out exactly the same.  It cooked a lot faster, so if you don't have a reason to use the crock pot (like, not having access to a stove...), I would recommend using the stove top method.

I totally did just copy and paste this from the original post.  Does that count as plagiarizing myself?

Spicy Squash with Garlic-Yogurt Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 lb squash, peeled, cut in half, and cut into 1 1/2 inch thick slices (I used a combination of butternut and an orange squash that I bought because it was pretty, but which I have no clue what it is)
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1 small diced Thai chili (frozen from my garden)
• 1/2 pint tomato sauce (from my canning frenzy!)
• 1/2 cup honey (this time I used buckwheat honey.  I liked the less sweat flavor that added)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

 For the Yogurt Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped oregano
•  1 tbsp fresh chopped dill

In a large dutch oven, over medium high heat, warm the olive oil.  Working in batches, add the squash, season with salt and pepper, and saute until evenly browned, about 7 minutes.  (DON'T BURN YOUR FACE OFF!).  Once the squash is browned, remove it from the pan. You may need to work in batches to avoid overcrowding.  To the pan, add ginger, garlic, coriander, cinnamon, curry, and chilis, and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomato sauce, the honey, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Stir, scrapping the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil.  Return the squash to the pan and stir gently to combine.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer until the squash is tender - about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, or the day before, combine yogurt, garlic, oregano, dill, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

First Christmas

11 hits from Germany this week!  Way to be awesome, Germany!  I would make something German, but I don't really know any German recipes.  I do take suggestions!  Come to think of it, I did Christmas with my mom's side of the family last night, and she got me a meat grinder/sausage maker... so I could make sausages.  Sausages are German.  Unless that's a racist thing to say, in which case, sorry.  I love sausages! <---Fact.

Anyway, yesterday was family Christmas with my mom's family.  We've got three families to arrange Christmas with, and they all live in opposite directions in the state, so things need to be spread out over more than two days.

I had a great time.  My sister has a two year old, and his complete joy at opening presents has actually gotten me in a Christmas-y mood.  Which is a big deal for me.  I generally am one of those people who just gets stressed out and angry at Christmas time, and most of the time it doesn't seem worth the trouble.  But a two year old giggling uncontrollably whilst throwing colored bits of paper up into the air - along with a whole lot of wine (for me, not the two year old!) - has made me downright jolly.  Really.  I listened to Christmas carols on my way in to work today.  I may have even sung along!

At any family dinner, I am always in charge of vegetables.  I feel like vegetables - especially salad - tend to be overlooked in the big meal.  This may be a Wisconsin thing, but meat and potatoes are always the star.  Vegetables are there to have something green on the table, but generally are afforded very little room on the plate!

But good vegetables are good.  And I don't always care for meat that much when other people are cooking.  One of the realizations I have made in this locavore quest is how different "real" meat tastes from the meat you buy in the grocery store.  In fact, there was a time that I thought I didn't like meat.  I even considered becoming a vegetarian!  Imagine!! Turns out I just don't like crappy meat.

But, I do understand that not everyone has the time/money to buy fresh local meat, and I don't begrudge them that, I just fill up on vegetables.  Vegetables that I bring, so I know that they're good.

Which is why I have become the vegetable girl!

I did ask ahead and found out that there would not be room for me in the oven (seriously, people.  It's only polite to ask!), so I made two crock pot vegetable dishes, both of which could be warmed in the microwave if necessary (and it was).  My only complaint with either of these was in regards to the beets.  I used a combo of red and yellow beets, which I should have realized was a bad plan.  Some of the yellow beets got stained with the red beets, but not allover, which just ended up making them look weird.  They still tasted delicious, but it was kind of like someone colored on them with a big red marker.  In the future, I think I'd only use one color of beets in this dish.

This was probably my favorite beet preparation so far.  And it was a lot easier than some of the others, so this concept is something I might stick to moving forward.  I figure it should work with a lot of different flavors.  As written, it was very Christmas-y!

While the beets were my favorite, the squash was the star of the show.  I didn't get to take any home, so I will be making more soon.  I also promised my sister that I would get this posted today so she could steal the recipe... I'm just barely making good on that promise!

Braised Beets with Orange and Clove 
(I have to be honest, here, only the beets and honey are local...)

• 3 lbs beets (stick to the same color beets)
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tsp honey
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf

Peel beets, and cut into 1/2 inch slices.  Season with salt and pepper, and place in the slow cooker.  Combine remaining ingredients, and pour over beets.  Cover, and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.  I held mine on warm for about 2 hours longer, and they held up nicely.


Spicy Squash with Garlic-Yogurt Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 lb squash, peeled, cut in half, and cut into 1 1/2 inch thick slices (I used a combination of butternut and an orange squash that I bought because it was pretty, but which I have no clue what it is)
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1 small diced Thai chili (frozen from my garden)
• 1/2 pint tomato sauce (from my canning frenzy!)
• 1/2 cup honey
• salt and freshly ground pepper

 For the Yogurt Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped mint

In a large frying pan, over medium high heat, warm the olive oil.  Working in batches, add the squash, season with salt and pepper, and saute until evenly browned, about 7 minutes.  Transfer to the slow cooker.  Add ginger, garlic, coriander, cinnamon, curry, and chilis, and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomato sauce, the honey, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Stir, scrapping the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil.  Pour over squash in crock pot.  Cover and cook until squash is tender but still holds it's shape.  I cooked mine a little too long.  It was good, but falling apart more than I would have liked.  I would say four hours on the low setting and not a minute longer!  Maybe only 3 and a half if you're going to need to heat it up later.

Meanwhile, or the day before, combine yogurt, garlic, mint, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Finally, I promised my step-dad that I would post a picture of his stollen bread.  Look how pretty.  And!  Stolen is German!  Yay!  Full Circle!!

Slightly Less Than a Shit-Ton of Meat

Saturday was an exciting day in the Oscarson household.  Saturday was... wait for it...

FREEZER DELIVERY DAY!!!

Yay!  My shiny new chest freezer has arrived.  Better yet, I think it spent the night on the truck, so it was almost all the way cold when it got delivered.

Now, I didn't know it was going to be pre-cooled, but fortunately when you live in WI in December, your backyard is a freezer too.  (This is not fair.  It has been unseasonably warm.  I do love me some global warming just a little.  But there was a high of only 20 this past Saturday).  Which means that I could go to the farmer's market and buy meat, not knowing exactly when the freezer would be delivered (between 11 and 2) or how long it would take it to chill. 

And so buy meat I did.  What I would have called a shit-ton of meat.  I bought chicken, and a turkey, and pork, and beef, and lamb!  Yes, the lamb people were at the farmer's market, and I stocked up! 

And as I handed over all my money I thought "well, that is sure a shit-ton of meat."

And as I hauled the bags to my car I thought, "boy, a shit-ton of meat sure is heavy!"

And as I piled it on the kitchen table to take a picture and brag to my husband about what all I got, we both were convinced that we had a shit-ton of meat on our hands.

And then the freezer came.

Now, I do not have great spacial reasoning skills, as proven by the fact that the freezer did not really fit in the space I prepared for it.  And, sure, I know chest freezers are big, but I thought I bought a fairly small one.  7 cubic feet is, after all, not that much.  Heck, most of the Energy Star chest freezers I looked at were 15-25 cubic feet.

So, you can imagine my surprise when my supposed shit-ton of meat turned promptly into almost nothing when placed at the bottom of an empty chest freezer:

Where did all my shit-ton of meat go?  Did the meat gnomes steal it?

I did clean out my regular freezer - which was so full it didn't want to stay closed - and I got the chest freezer to a more respectable level of fullness:

Still, though.  A lot of empty space in there.  Might be time to get some bulk beef.  I'm thinking a 1/4 beef should do...

And what's for dinner?  Meat, of course!  Boring, I know, but nothing makes me happier than a baked chicken.  I cheated just a little and got a lemon, and I blended together olive oil, garlic, oregano (the indoor oregano is doing GREAT!  You can't kill that stuff even if you let a cat sleep in the middle of the pot!), and lemon zest, and then rubbed that all over the outside of a butterflied chicken.  I served this with cheddar ranch broccoli and cauliflower. 

The broccoli was definitely an exercise in frustration.  It was something I knew should exist.  We had a large amount of ranch dressing in the refrigerator which was going to go bad before we could eat it.  Parents make their kids eat broccoli, and parents use ranch dressing to make kids eat vegetables, so cheddar ranch broccoli should be a thing.  But it's not.  Why?  I don't know.  I scoured the internet for something that wasn't a gross sounding egg bake casserole (there's a lot of this recipe floating around out there) and finally found a cheddar broccoli that used a roue base.  I figure, add some ranch into the roue, and there you go!

No.  Too much flour, the cheese melted and turned into an oily mess.  It was awful.  I'm not sure what I did wrong.  So I ended up just taking the broccoli and cooking it on its own, tossing it in some ranch dressing, and letting some cheddar cheese melt on top.

And do you know what?  It was delicious.  Fatty, unhealthy, not even good for you anymore vegetable delicious.

Exactly what my little heart wants sometimes.

And Sunday for dinner, I baked up a spaghetti squash.  Spaghetti is by far my favorite squash.  Like many of your winter squashes, it keeps well in a cool dark place, so I bought a lot at the last outdoor farmer's market of the season, and have them sitting in my basement waiting for me to eat all winter!  I have seen microwave directions for making spaghetti squash, but I prefer the traditional method.  Cut the squash in half the long way and scoop out the seeds (which I saved, and have soaking in salt water as we speak, ready to bake up.)  Drizzle some olive oil over the squash, and season with salt and pepper.  Bake, cut side down, in a 350 degree oven, until the outside of the squash can be pierced easily with a fork.

Once the squash is done, allow it to cool, and then scrape out the inside with a fork, going with the grain of the squash (side to side).  It will flake out in strings, like spaghetti.

You can then treat this exactly like you would pasta for a low carb equivalent... because... if you know anything about me... I try to be low carb...

Wait... that's not right...

Anyway, I tossed mine with some pesto, and some of the leftover chicken from Saturday night.  It was good!!