Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

Wow! How time flies...I had several entries planned for Beast's Kitchen in the past week but somehow didn't get to any of them. In any case, this one is just in time for your holiday meal planning...
Even those who "hate" Brussels Sprouts will love these! And talk about easy...you really don't even have to know how to cook to make these :)
Start with 1 lb Brussels Sprouts, as local and organic as possible...rinse them and remove any loose outer leaves. Cut them into quarters, lengthwise, then toss in a bowl with 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Next, heat a large skillet over medium heat and pour in 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Add Brussels Sprouts and cover. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is where your stove top temperature and the size of your pan will make a difference in the cooking time. You don't want the heat too high during this phase or the sprouts will brown too early. You also want a large enough pan that they are in one layer and not too crowded. When you can easily pierce with a fork, not mutilate, then remove the lid on the pan, raise the heat to med-medium-high and continue to cook another 5-10 minutes until the sprouts are caramelized, shaking the pan or stirring occasionally to ensure even caramelization on all sides. Once caramelized to your preference, remove from heat and sprinkle with 1/4 cup good quality parmesan or other sharp flavored hard cheese, such as gruyere. If you're not into cheese, instead add 1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar during the last 5 minutes, allowing the vinegar to caramelize the sprouts. Both versions are exceptional, super easy, healthy and will convert any brussels sprout haters for life!
Enjoy--Lisa (and Beast, of course)

As the snow flies the lettuce grows

Just as the snow has started falling my cold frame lettuce experiment is starting to look promising. I decided to try growing loose leaf lettuce in a cold frame this fall. I planted seeds at the beginning of October and have reseeded every two weeks. My goal is to have lettuce out of the cold frame through New Year's. If we get more, fantastic. If we get none, well, it really only cost the price of the seeds, so not too much lost, but it's looking promising right now, as you can see from the photos. We're about one week from our first baby greens-yum!

Wood Fired Pizza, Good Friends and only 2 days Left Until the Elections

It was an unbelievably warm fall day...one that will probably go down in history...if tomorrow doesn't beat it, which it may---a record high is predicted. We gathered with good friends for wood fired pizza and enjoyed talk about everything from food to elections to getting old, but mostly we talked about food. I've baked a LOT of pizza, from scratch, both in my oven and on my grill, but I've never, until today, baked pizza in a wood fired oven. It's truly AMAZING...what takes 10 minutes in my oven and 5-7 minutes on my grill is done in just 2-3 minutes in a wood fired oven. And talk about crisp, bubbly perfection--yum! Thanks friends...let's not wait too long to do it again!
So now, after a long, drawn out Presidential campaign it's only 2 days from the elections, and I've got to admit that if I were one of the candidates I'd probably want to go to sleep until the inauguration in January, but I'd also be a bit let down after all these many months of pounding the pavement and stumping. That said, I'd NEVER run for public office---what are they--NUTS? They get paid very little, criticized constantly and have the toughest job imaginable--no thank you. That said, predictions are for record voter turn out and the longest voting lines in my lifetime. So, I think I'll bring some cold pizza and vote early tomorrow to avoid the election day crowds.
Until next time--enjoy the fall weather, soon it will be time for over the river and through the woods...

Halloween--We had a few problems with the costumes

As you can see...the kitties were not into the idea of "dressing up" for Halloween. No matter what I tried to bribe him with, Beast wasn't wearing "no stinking bat costume". The only reason Birch put up with it is because she's been around long enough to know it won't last too long. And Coffee, well, she's too little to fight back.
I'm boycotting the candy giving this year and I found some "healthy" treats...sort of. Mini packets of animal crackers-they're actually still pretty good, and low fat too; fruit sticks--supposed to be made from real fruit, and loaded with vitamin C; and mini packs of Doritos, Cheetos and Lays potato chips--by far the best tasting and the worst for you. I wish we could go back to the days when people actually made the snacks. Remember that? I may be giving my age away, but I remember when we used to be invited into the homes and actually had to do a "trick" before we got a treat, and there were usually a bunch of adults sitting around having cocktails and smoking. Then sometime while I was still a kid people started doing sick things like putting razor blades in apples and poisoning candy. So we no longer hand out homemade treats and everything has to be factory sealed in individual pouches, which most often must be inspected by mom and dad before the little ghosts and goblins get to taste the treats. That said, the costumes are still great fun and the kids love ringing the doorbells and hollering TRICK OR TREAT at the top of their lungs.
Beast's Kitchen, where we're cooking up miniature pumpkin empanada treats, Happy Halloween!

Pepitas

Aye-Aye-Aye-Aye...I love pepitas! I love the fall, as you've probably already learned. I love the leaves, the cool weather, warm fires on cold evenings, mums, planting bulbs, eating squash and pumpkins and Pepitas--pumpkin seeds. When scooping pumpkin for cheesecake, muffins, bread or soup I cannot bring myself to just toss out the guts, seeds and all. I have to save the seeds and then roast them for snacks, or for use in recipes. You can even use them as the nuts in a pesto recipe. Over time I've learned a couple of tricks that make them much yummier. When scooping them out of the pumpkins I put them, guts and all into a bowl and then once all the pumpkin goo is scooped out, I strain the seeds free through my hands to separate the seeds from the slimy flesh. You don't need to worry about getting them perfectly clean, as some of the gooey flesh adds flavor to the seeds. Then, soak them in salted water overnight. The next day, drain them and spread them on a sheet pan and dry them in the oven at a very low temperature until completely dried, but not shriveled up and flaky. They taste great this way, or you can store them in an airtight container until ready to use in recipes. I often make spicy pumpkin seeds by melting a couple of tbsp of butter and adding cumin, ground cayenne pepper, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce, then baking for about 45 minutes in a 250-275° oven, then sprinkle with coarse salt, stir and cool in the pan. These usually won't make it to storage in our house, but they make great snacks and even fun hostess gifts for the holidays. So before you toss out all those yummy seeds when carving your pumpkins, think of a fun use for them and the nutritional value as well--roughage!
Happy Carving--

Weenies Roasting on an Open Fire

Fall: Falling Leaves, Chilly Evenings, and Weenies Roasting on an Open Fire!
I love the smell of a fire pit in the fall. Last night the rain stopped just in time for roasting weenies on the open fire. I am not fond of hot dogs...they're pretty disgusting actually. And the alternative versions, such as tofu pups, like the one on the left in the photo, aren't any better. That said, there's something about roasting over an open fire, whether it be hot dogs, marshmallows or skewers of veggies, everything just tastes better. Tim loves hot dogs so about once a year I buy some really good quality hot dogs and make them as a treat, then he gets to eat the whole package and get that out of his system for a while. In addition, every once in a while when we cook out with the neighbors there are hot dogs to satisfy his finer taste buds.
I have found a few hot dogs worth trying, and here's the list (in no particular order): Nueske's Applewood Smoked Wieners, Usinger's Wieners, Bavaria Sausage Wieners, Jordandal Farm, Miesfeld's, Ruegsegger Farms

Greens, Greens, and More Greens!

I'm not sure how this happened, but this week we ended up with an abundance of greens. You would think that odd for this late in the growing season, but some of the greens are quite hardy and thrive in cold weather. There was so much between what I picked up at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday and what we received in the CSA that I knew we couldn't possibly digest that many greens before they wilted. So I went to work blanching for freezing. From what appeared to be a humongous mountain of greens I stored a one gallon bag of mixed blanched greens for use over the winter. Normally I prefer to sauté them and eat them fresh, but I also like having them on hand during the winter for making soups, stews, pasta etc. I freeze some of the darndest things, that you would never think could be frozen. Tomatoes don't even have to be blanched-just wash, dry and freeze on a tray until solid, then pop them in a bag. Parsley, cilantro and basil can be washed, dried and frozen in bags for use over the winter as well. No, they don't taste as good as fresh, but at least they are local and I know where they came from. Too much arugula? Try making pesto with it. Pesto freezes beautifully and is great to have on hand for a quick pasta, pizza, foccacia or crostini. And be creative with your pesto--it doesn't have to be pine nuts--you can use any nuts you have on hand. Just toast them and add them to the mixture. I've used almonds, pecans, walnuts and pistachios in the past. You can also use a variety of different cheeses, or even leave out the cheese until you're ready to use the pesto and mix it in after thawing and just before using. Pesto goes a long way, so I've found it is helpful to freeze it in ice cube trays and then once frozen transfer the cubes into a plastic bag or container. That way you don't have to thaw out a huge container and feel like you need to use it all at once. Half pint dairy containers also work nicely, but often that's too much for just one dish as well. Be sure to have plenty of garlic on hand when making pesto...it's just not the same without all the garlic, and a bit of salt too. Here's my basic recipe:
1 bunch basil washed, dried and leaves removed; 1 head of garlic; a handful of toasted nuts; a couple of pinches of salt; a small mound of grated hard cheese, like parmesan or asiago...the better the quality, the better the pesto; and of course extra virgin olive oil, again, the better the quality, the better the pesto. Throw everything except the oil into the food processor and chop until it's well processed, then gradually add olive oil to taste. YUM!