The Walters Come To Lunch

            We first met John Walters when living in our RV for three years. We moved to the Prescott Pines RV Park on the other side of town, and John and his wife were living two doors down. John was a sweet quiet man, taking care of his terminally ill wife. It was difficult for him, but being an honorable and loving husband, he was diligent kind and thoughtful to the end. After a time of grieving and through his pastor, John met Bev at church, and found themselves to be very compatible. After some time in courtship, they fell in love and were married, and they are the cutest couple…like kids on their honeymoon!  They commute seasonally between their homes in the Phoenix area during the winters, to their summer place here in Prescott, so when they’re up here during summers, we get together and visit again. 

          We invited them over for lunch Sunday to spend some time, talk, laugh, catch up on things going on in our lives, and share lunch. Lunch consisted of Turkey Walnut Cranberry Sandwiches, using toasted Cranberry Walnut bread from Pangea Bakery here in Prescott (which, by the way, makes the best croissants I’ve ever tasted and makes me want to move to Paris each time I have a taste).  To further the Cranberry/Walnut theme, I made a spread by reconstituting dried orange flavored cranberries with a bit of water and some agave nectar (much lower glycemic index for Roy’s diabetes) and boiling it until they are plump, juicy, and tender.  I removed them from the heat and let the mixture cool, then put it into the blender with some walnuts and cream cheese, and whipped them into a delectable spread which was used on one side of the toasted bread.  On the other I used a mix or mayo, Dijon, horseradish sauce, grated onion, and a tiny bit of relish.  The sandwiches were then piled high with fresh romaine leaves, English cucumber slices, grated carrots, provolone cheese, and slices of roasted turkey breast. Skewered with toothpicks and cut in half, they were ready for enjoying.

          The sandwiches were accompanied by Butternut Squash Bisque with hints of ginger and orange. Smooth, rich, and deliciously healthy, I’m glad I made enough to have for dinner/lunch for a few days to come.

          With the soup and sandwiches, a crisp green salad made with lettuces, Asian greens, basil, dill, and tomatoes picked fresh from our gardens, some slivered almonds, and a chopped boiled egg, topped with a vinaigrette made from white truffle oil,  Champagne Pear Balsamic, a little agave nectar, salt, pepper, and fines herbs, the salad rounded out the meal.

          So again, good friends, good food, and good conversation made for a delightful Sunday at Spiaggia nel Massi (Beach in the Boulders), ending the month of July on good note.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE WITH GINGER AND ORANGE               

2 T olive oil or butter

2-3 lb butternut squash, halved, seeds removed

2 large carrots chopped

1 onion chopped

2 T fresh ginger minced (approx 1 inch piece)

40 oz. chicken broth

2 T grated orange zest

1 bunch parsley chopped or 2 T dried parsley

1 pinch of Fines Herbes

1 pinch ground nutmeg

Sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Rub cut side of squash halves with 1 T oil/butter. Put on baking sheet cut side down. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Cool enough to handle, then peel and cut into chunks. Set aside.

Heat 1 T olive oil or butter over medium heat in large sauce pot.  Sauté carrots, onion and ginger for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add stock and orange zest and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add squash, stir and let simmer another 15 minutes. Add parsley, nutmeg, salt & pepper.  Let cool.  Puree soup in food processor or with immersion blender until smooth and creamy. 

To serve, reheat on low until steamy and hot thoroughly, but do not boil.

Recommendations:

1)  Make croutons out of cinnamon raisin bread for garnish, along with a dollop of crème fraiche or unsweetened whipped cream. 

2)  Sprinkle roasted salted pumpkin seeds over top of soup before serving. 

Gardens Progress--July 25 2011

chards and collard greens

Jane gathering green beans

    The gardens aren’t doing too badly, and in fact some of the plants (Blue Lake Beans, Pole Beans, Swiss Chard, French Sorrel, Poblano Chilis) are doing great finally. While the heat is affecting everyone and all seem to be complaining about electric bills due to A/C, our biggest bill is the water bill for the garden—3 times larger than the electric bill and 4 times larger than the gas bill.  This has been a strange year so there isn’t the amount of production I'd hoped for...but a lot of the things just seem to be a month behind, so still hoping. Have to harvest green beans and basil today... yesterday was thyme and tarragon, and we're using the lettuces regularly. A few tomatoes--probably one or two a day—are ripening, but certainly won’t be canning/freezing any. So good...plus had 2 days last week 

poblanos--rellenos soon

when I picked 7-8 strawberries. Roy had them on his cereal yesterday morning, and we shared the bunch earlier in the week. Have used a few onions, used 3 heads of Chinese cabbage and then made a bunch of cabbage rolls and put them in the freezer. So while we're certainly not saving money, it's all organic and it tastes good, so hopefully next year will be better. It's also been a learning experience...I will NOT plant bell peppers, leeks, radishes, cabbages from seed, or peas again. The peas did okay but die back too quickly. I WILL plant basil, blue lake green beans, tomatoes, swiss chard, collards, onions, garlic, shallots again and add to the asparagus bed. Still awaiting results on the Purple Peruvian Potatoes and the Beauregard Sweet Potatoes as won’t be ready to

cucumbers coming on

 harvest for a bit yet.  Have rhubarb coming on strong and it's perennial, and the strawberry bed is doing well although I must surround it with aviary netting to keep the critters out. So, plant, watch water, weed, ,harvest, enjoy and learn....that's what gardening seems to be about for me .    

cabbages kohlrabi and nasturiums

     Roy and friend Gail's birthdays are Aug 2 15 and 13 respectively, so making plans for a Birthday Pie Day (both dessert & savory pies) and seeing if I can't gather friends and musicians together for a fun time and some descent music during it. Hope to have it outside on the patio...if we get a couple of major areas fixed. Guayo dug up a large flagstone so we have to redo that area and one other where the piece of flagstone

herb garden and xtra pots

 sticks up and I'm afraid people would trip over it. So keep that in mind and keep your calendars freed up for August 13, Saturday. Give me a holler or an email if you'll be coming. Good food, good people, good laughter and good music…what could be better. 

This Week’s Episode of Co-Op Chopped In Prescott!

It’s Saturday, so this morning at 7:00am, before getting to work at 7:30 am, I was at the co-op for the weekly fruit  & vegetable baskets pick up.  With a flat fee paid on Mondays via the internet, you get 2 baskets, one with fruits and one with vegetables, that are in season, beautiful, and at a fantastic price to help stretch the budget. However, you never know WHAT you will receive.

This week’s baskets contained 1 celery, 1 romaine, 1# strawberries, 1# baby heirloom tomatoes, 7 plums, 7 mangoes, 10 peaches, 2 large onions, 7 sweet potatoes, 1# green beans, 1 cantaloupe, and 4 bananas.  Once home, they were placed under refrigeration or in the big basket I keep on my kitchen sideboard. And it was a good thing that grandson Zachary was here visiting to help polish some of it off.  Bananas on cereal, a couple plums, a few peaches---so delicious fresh and dripping juices down your chin. Summer’s bounty in all its glory!

The celery was used in salads, soup, Chicken Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches, and just for munching. Romaine was mixed with the wonderful greens and tomatoes and herbs from the garden for delicious bountiful salads and as garnishes on sandwiches. Onions never have any trouble finding a recipe in this house, and were used in Kung Pao Chicken along with zucchini, patty pan squash, peanuts, carrots. Green beans were blanched and cut up into the vegetable soup, and as a side dish for meatloaf served with Cajun fried potatoes.  So far, so good.

However, it was a busy week also, so all of the goodies didn’t get eaten and were beginning to lose their freshness. So, what to do now?  Well, here’s where the creative mind of a foodie goes crazy…I am the newest contender of Chopped!  Well, not really but that’s where my weird mind went!  It’s a great show on the Food Network, where chefs are given baskets of things that may or may not work together (pusulane, rabbit, lemon heads, etc.), and they have to make appetizers from one basket, main course/entre from another, and dessert from the last one. The chef who does the best job wins $10K, but along the way any one of them messes up and makes something disgusting, they are chopped out of the competition at that stage and cannot go on.

So first things first, instead of beginning with the appetizer, in true form of my mantra “Life is uncertain, eat dessert first” I go to the bananas and  I make….Banana Bread Pudding with With Warm Whiskey Sauce! First I make the banana bread, and then make the bread pudding out of it (just in case there are not already enough calories in the butter, sugar, etc. in the banana bread!!), and then the fabulous warm bourbon sauce over it.  This would, in my humble opinion, keep me in the running for the $10K prize if I was truly on the show!

The appetizer portion used the mangoes and onions, along with some cilantro and tomatoes, Thai chilis, and garlic chives from the garden, for a delightful mango salsa enthusiastically scooped up into fresh fried corn tortilla chips. Extra mangoes were diced and frozen to be used at a later date.

Strawberries were sliced into salads, and sliced into pancake batter where a few drops of vanilla rum emulsion and powdered vanilla brought out the flavor even more. Sweet Potatoes are still awaiting their fate, but thinking maybe Curried Yam Fries with BBQ Ribs for dinner tomorrow night. And the plums are made into Easy Peazy Plum Preserves (recipe at the end).

Now for the peaches. Well, I admit that I not only purchased the 2 baskets, but also a case of large round sweet and juicy peaches that day too.  After 3 days, they were ripend to perfection, and so at 2:00am I got up, blanched and skinned them, sliced them up, made a light syrup with agave nectar and water, and water bath canned 15 pints of sliced peaches, 7 with cinnamon and cloves added to spice them up. Also 5 half pints of peach jam was made.  This was all accomplished prior to my going to work at 7:30 a.m.  Why?  Because I awoke at 1:45a.m. realizing  I was going to lose their delicious peak-of-the-summer freshness and the peaches themselves if I didn’t get them canned that morning. By the time I got home that night, they would have been too ripe and too mushy to do anything but make preserves out of them, and we just don’t eat that much jam! So they are now lined up on my pantry shelves, with their little home made “Peach Slices”, “Spiced Peach Slices” and “Peach Preserves” labels intact.  Puts a big smile on my face!

So cheers to the bounty of summer, cheers to the affordable co-op prices, and cheers to creative cooking for everyone.  Go out, get some stuff, and come home and do your own version of Chopped and see what you can come up with to surprise and amaze friends and family!!!

Easy Peazy Plum Jam

2 # halved, pitted prune plums

1 ½ c. sugar

1 t. grated lemon zest

2 T fresh lime juice

Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together in large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently so it doesn’t scorch. Cook, stirring often, until mixture has the consistency of thick honey.  Pour all into blender (some people like to remove the skins at this point with a fork and not process, but I find it tedious and time consuming so blending takes care of them), and whirl just til all skins have incorporated into the jam. Put back on the stove and under medium low heat bring up to simmer to take out some of the air bubbles that make it turn a creamy colored when blended.  Remove from flame, skim any foam from the top. 

Pour into sterilized jam jars, put on lids and seals and make sure they are screwed on tight. Put into boiling water bath and process for 15 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature, making sure all lids have set (you will hear a “thump” sound when they seal). In case one or two do not seal, just keep them in the refrigerator. The others can be stored at room temperature in your cupboard or pantry. Be sure to label.  Makes 3 half pints.

BANANA BREAD PUDDING with WARM WHISKEY SAUCE

Instead of the usual white bread used for bread pudding, try this rich decadent overwhelmingly banana version.  Stands alone, but with the addition of the Warm Whiskey Sauce, it’s over the top stupendous!

1 loaf banana bread….use recipe below

2 ½ c. milk

1 c. cream

5  eggs, beaten

½ c. banana chips

1 ½ c sugar

1 t. vanilla powder

½ t. butter vanilla emulsion (optional)

1 t. brandy extract

Cut baked banana bread into 1 inch slices. Brush with melted butter on eachside. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until bread is crispy on the outside of the slices.  Cool and cut into 1” squares.

In a large mixing bowl mix together milk, cream, sugar, vanilla powder, and extracts. Beat well to dissolve sugar and incorporate ingredients.  Mix in banana chips and let sit in refrigerator 20 minutes. 

Grease 12 qt square glass baking dish well with butter.  Put bread squares into bowl with liquids and let sit 30  minutes.  Pour into greased baking dish and arrange into a flat layer. Some liquid should come over the top of the bread pieces.  Place in large pan with water ½ way up the sides of the square baking dish. Put all into oven and bake 1 ½ hours.  Middle should be soft but not liquid, and top should be slightly browned.  Remove from oven and cool.

Warm Whiskey Sauce

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 cup bourbon or other whiskey (for rum sauce, a nice spiced rum could be substituted)

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a 1-quart saucepan set over medium heat, combine the cream, milk, and sugar. Place the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of the bourbon in a small mixing bowl and whisk til blended. Pour into the cream mixture and bring to a boil. Once the sauce begins to boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat, add the salt, and stir in the butter and the remaining 1/2 cup of bourbon. Serve warm.

BANANA BREAD

8 T unsalted butter (1 stick)

¾ c granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 c flour

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1 c whole wheat flour

3 large ripe bananas mashed

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. brandy extract

½ c. walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5x3 bread pan liberally. Put in strip of parchment the width of the bottom, leaving pieces extending over each end.

Cream butter and sugar until light an fluffy. Add eggs and beat well until mixture is light and completely incorporated.

Mix flours, baking soda, and salt together, stirring and mixing all ingredients together well.  Pour a bit at a time into the wet ingredients, beating well after each addition. Fold in mashed bananas, vanilla, brandy extract and mix well. Add walnuts and incorporate into batter.

Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes then remove to cooling rack and cool completely.

My Wife Jane...A Note From Roy

This was written by Roy in January...I just found it on the desktop and thought I'd share it with you all as it again cracked us up. Believe me, we laugh a lot in this household, and it's a good thing with the inherent hearing problems of old age, and the many things that transpire on a daily basis, laughter is the only way you can keep your head above water. A sense of humor is a must for growing old, gracefully or not!!!

      My wife wandered out of the bedroom early one morning, still sleepy eyed and not quite in the world. I was up reading a Detective Wallander novel, and she inquired if all was okay with me, probably because I was out of bed at a rather early hour, being that I’m a retired duffer who usually sleeps in late.

     Upon assuring her all was well, I used a phrase that I had just read in the book, “I’m okay, I’m compos mentis”. She cocked her head and looked at me with a rather puzzled demeanor, and said “Compost mentis??  Is that Latin for ‘shit for brains’?  As in mind compost????

     I roared. I can’t believe her sleep-fogged mind was able to come up with anything so out there and whacky funny so early in the morning. But that’s my wife. 

Summer Time and the Living is Delicious

Hauser corn piled on the island in my kitchen

     Summertime and all thoughts go to the yummy fresh fruits and vegetables that are in our memories from childhood.  Berries—strawberries, blueberries, blackberries; homemade ice cream with mint or peaches; watermelon so ripe it cracks when you split it and so juicy it runs down your chin and arms when you eat it and so ice cold it hurts your teeth; cantaloupe halves filled with ice cream;  fresh tomatoes warm from the garden and bursting with flavor;  and last but certainly not least, corn on the cob.  And the best corn on the cob on the planet comes from Hauser Farms in Camp Verde, AZ.

      We had to make a trip to Cordes Junction to deliver grandson Mitchell to his cousin Sherry.  They were heading to Huntington Beach for a weekend at the ocean for the 4^th of July.  This is where Jason & family (my son, Mitch’s dad) lives. Mitch had been visiting with us, so after a week of going to the Heritage Park Zoo, helping us with the gardens and weeds, going to the Bluegrass Festival, walking around the downtown square and getting ice cream at the Prescott Food Store along with homemade chocolate dipped pretzels, playing with Guayo, going to Anchor Books and getting to choose a huge stack  of books ranging from Sport Cars and Guiness Book  of Records to Eclipse for his Mom, it was time for Mitch to return home. And to our great benefit, Sherry offered to take him with them so we wouldn’t have to drive to Blythe and neither would Jenn, to do the kid exchange.

      After getting Mitchell all settled in with them, we took off and headed north on I-17 instead of heading back to Prescott. Off we went to Camp Verde. Stopped in to see our friend Johnny at Classic Framing (if you have something fabulous to frame, take it to John…he’s the best!), then we went down the road to Hauser Farms. Johnny had emailed me earlier in the week that the corn was ready.  The corn was stacked high in the back of a big wagon, $5.00 for a dozen. And although it was a bit cheaper at the local market that week, there’s no comparison in taste. It’s a no brainer…if you can get Hauser corn, while you can get Hauser corn, you get it!!!  We purchased 3 dozen and couldn’t wait to get home with them. We stopped at another roadside farm stand and purchased some patty pan squash and zucchini fresh from the fields to round out the vege purchase, and headed home.

      Hauser corn is a white & yellow mixed kernel corn. It is succulent, sweet, juicy and freezes perfectly. Left on the cob, or cut off into single kernels, it’s just the best taste in the world. We shared a few with the neighbors, then cooked some for ourselves. Then I shucked, blanched, and froze the rest. I had used the last package from last year from the freezer for company that  came to dinner that weekend, so now we’re ready for one more run to Hauser and finish stocking up for this winter.  Cut off the cob, with diced poblano peppers mixed in along with some diced zucchini & yellow squash, tomato, some shredded cheese, salt, pepper, diced onion, and garlic…you have delicious Calabacitas!  Calabasitas literally translates to “little squash” but everyone who knows SW cooking knows of this traditional dish. This dish is a hearty vegetarian side dish or main dish, can be used as a burrito filling, or with the addition of a little chicken makes a delicious main dish casserole.
      So while the corn, peppers, and tomatoes are ripe for the picking, get some extra and try this traditional Southwest Native recipe.  You won’t regret it. And if you’re anywhere near Central Arizona especially in the Verde Valley, make a trip to Camp Verde and ask anyone there where to find Hauser Farms. They’ll direct you right to it, and by all means, buy enough to last you throughout the winter and until next July when you can again have a beautiful road trip to pick up one of the unforgettable treasures of summer.

Calabacitas Con Queso (Squash With Cheese)

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups diced summer squash (yellow crookneck or patty pan both are delicious)
2 1/2 cups diced zucchini
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen

6 scallions, chopped (3/4 cup)            
1/2 cup chopped Poblano chilies, roasted, with skin removed

1 cup diced ripe Roma (plum) tomatoes
1/2 cup firmly packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup grated Jack cheese (or a great substitution is delicious Mexican Cotija cheese)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet and sauté  the onion for about 4 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté  2 minutes longer.

2. Add the squash and zucchini and sauté  5 minutes longer, until softened.

3. Add the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil with the corn, scallions, and chilies and sauté 3 minutes longer.

4. Stir in the tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, and cream  and heat through, about 5 minutes.

5. Season with salt. Sprinkle more cheese on top & serve hot with hot flour tortillas.