Dusting off the cobwebs !!

Spring is here !!!!   I thought I'd spend the winter sequestered in the house cooking up lots of tasty dishes, but nope, didn't quite go that way.....

But along with spring comes fresh spring greens like beautiful baby spinach, and one of my fresh ways to eat baby spinach is tossed with freshly cooked pasta, sauteed sausage or chicken, and oven roasted sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil. Besides the beautiful fresh spinach, the tomatoes were roasted to a sweet raisiny yumminess and stored in olive oil (I keep these in half pint canning jars in the FREEZER since it's not considered safe to can in oil). Extra bonus- if you don't use all the oil, you have a tasty addition to sautes and salad dressings !

So, let's get to the dish. You will need

1 box farfalle pasta   (you can use any type of pasta you like or have on hand but I like the cute bows)
1 pound italian sausage links, chicken breast, kielbasa- whatever you like or skip the meat and go vegetarian
1/2 large onion, sliced into thin wedges
1/2 pint jar roasted tomatoes in olive oil (more on that below)
half a bag of fresh baby spinach,stems pinched off if you like
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
about 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 can cannellini beans
salt and pepper

Begin by starting a large pot of salted water to boil. Slice the sausage or chicken thin slices, brown in a large stockpot with a little oil.

You want a nice caramelization on the sausage, but if you use chicken, cook just til cooked through. *Hint- I learned this sauteeing in a stockpot trick from my chef Joe- the high sides contain all the oil splatter and cut down on the mess !!

When the sausage is well browned, add the onion, stir well and keep sauteeing on low. Add the cannellini beans to heat through.

In a large bowl place the fresh spinach, parmesan cheese and the entire jar of tomatoes with the oil (I heated them in the micro since they were kept in the freezer). Add a little salt and pepper.

When the water comes to boil,add the pasta and cook til al dente. Drain and add to bowl with spinach. Add sausage mixture. Toss well. If you need additional moisture, deglaze the sausage pot with the chicken stock and add a little at a time.

Toss entire mixture well til spinach wilts and ingredients are well coated, and serve !!

What I love so much about this dish - not that it's quick and easy, it's not REALLY. Unless you pre-prep everything. It's that it's so versatile- you can use ingredients you like and leave out what you don't. Mushrooms, peppers, zucchini- almost anything can be added. Toss in some crushed red pepper for heat or saute a little garlic in there. Beans or no beans- up to you !! But it's so fresh and delicious and beautiful on the plate. The spinach is so healthy and not cooked to death and the TOMATOES- YUM !!!!

Let's talk about the tomatoes. As you know, I am a gardener and home canner so I make my own "sun dried" tomatoes and what I used in this recipe was a mixture of red grape and yellow pear baby tomatoes that had been oven roasted at 275 degrees, tossed with olive oil and salt, packed loosely into half pint jars, covered with extra virgin olive oil and stored in the freezer. You can use store bought sun dried tomatoes in oil if you like, but you may need  a dab more oil with your tomatoes.

I hope you will give this dish a try. With a little crusty bread and a great wine, it can be a real chance to shine in the kitchen !!

Joe's goose is cooked !!!

So the Chef took his turn at cooking Canada goose breast and he opted for a totally different (and I freely admit) more successful approach. The crockpot !! And his flavor profile was entirely different too- more of a Cuban/South American slant, but not Mexican......

In the crockpot he layered the seasoned goose breast, rubbed with a good tablespoon or so meat rub (again 3 of them), peeled and cut up carrots, onion wedges, crushed hot pepper of choice, minced garlic, sun dried tomatoes, green beans, corn, 1 tb instant coffee granules, beef broth, about 1/3 can cola, a cup of dry red wine, put the on and lid and let it cook on low overnight.

Frozen and dried veggies from our own garden !!

The result was a rich and spicy stew-like dish with a complex blend of flavors. Goose is one of the leanest meats you can choose and all the veggies super loaded this dish with goodness. You could serve alongside rice but we opted not to. All the veggies were fulfilling enough !

So with more goose yet to be cooked........... I wonder what we will think of next ????

Reflections........

Last year at this time I believe I did a" year end summary" type post. I think so anyway. So I think it's the appropriate thing to do again.

Much has changed in 2012 at out little lake house. A WONDERFUL new career opportunity for the chef. Endless drought and virtually no garden produce. Loss of many friends and a furkid. A new addition to the family. Lots of time to evaluate life and appreciate how much we have.

I've come to realize I truly love where I'm at. Sure I have days I want it all to go away and be just a bad dream, but I'm only human. The reality is, we have a perfect little "family". We have made great friends in 2012. We lost amazing people from our lives in 2012. But we've grown closer, and have a more clear vision of what our future is going to be.

2013 is going to ROCK. We are going to ROCK. In all areas of our lives. No more worries about what we cannot control. Live day to day.  We have some work to do on the house, decisions to make about garden or no, I'm thinking YES because I cannot imagine not wandering though the plants and plucking off the perfect juicy tomato.

I've been canning like a fiend !! And this year for the first time in my life, I am going to enter some things in the Guthrie County Fair. I have seeds to grow a vegetable I've never grown before - Mexican gherkins. I saved seeds from all the squash and pumpkins I canned and froze. I've learned much from friends all over the world about cooking, canning and food preservation. I got my first pressure canner!! I discovered the idea of "prepping" and after a week of not having running water because of a water meter leak- I GET IT.

The Chef has been very happy in his new job. Not only it is a professional environment, he gets to spread his wings and cook HIS food. He's made new friends and connections.

So,thanks to all of you, who read our silly Facebook pages and blog postings, you give us a reason to carry on. We appreciate each and every one of you and wish you all the best in 2013.

Oh Canada !!!!

Can't you just hear the music?? Reminds me of the Olympics....well, anyway, in this case I am not talking about our Neighbor to the North nor the Olympics but rather the big beautiful bird, the Canada goose, who is a nuisance to so many of us (have you ever seen the bird poo mess they leave behind ??) and a delicacy to others.

photo courtesy of Rich Fletcher's Good Food and Photography

The Chef and I have been looking forward to getting back in the kitchen and back to cooking. Well, he is in the kitchen almost every night but that's to pay the bills, not to have fun. We haven't done any fun blog cooking in months, with the holidays and crazy schedules.... Since we have a freezer full of goose we figured it was time to give  it a whirl and see what we came up with. Chef took the day off so I attempted to create a succulent Roast Breast of Goose with Bacon and Red Wine Reduction. We'll see how this goes.......

Although I grew up eating game birds all the time I haven't had the opportunity to cook them other than whole roast duck or goose(except my attempt at duck confit). A lot of research was done, cookbooks consulted, hunters' advice regarded and disregarded and I decided to go with my imagination and see what happens.......

Having heard from so many people that overcooking makes goose taste like liver, and other say that's not so, and neither of us real familiar with goose BREAST we just decided to cook it more on the fully cooked side and less rare and bloody, which the Chef is not a fan of anyway.

My other challenge was DRYNESS. Every cook familiar with fowl knows the fat layer is under the skin and since the skin and fat layer had been removed, I had some extremely lean meat to work with. With adding the broth/wine and layering bacon on top, I'm hoping to replace some of the moisture in the meat and keep it from becoming goose jerky.

ROAST BREAST OF GOOSE WITH BACON AND RED WINE REDUCTION

3 goose breasts (we had Canada goose, boneless with the skin removed)
1 small onion
6 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
Asian Five Spice seasoning
vegetable oil
1-2 cups chicken stock, wine (red or white) or combo
bacon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Thoroughly rinse and pat dry duck. (I thawed the goose breasts in a brine-like salt water solution) Season with five spice powder, salt and pepper and set aside.

Peel and halve onion, slice crosswise, separate into half rings. Slice garlic cloves.

Pour a couple tablespoons of oil (any kind will do, veg, olive or even, if you have it and want to splurge, melted duck fat !!) into a 9 inch square baking dish, sprinkle in the onions and garlic.

Set the goose breasts atop the vegetables. Cut bacon slices in half crosswise and cover breasts with bacon to completely cover but don't overlap if you can help it. Pour the broth/wine around the breasts.  Place dish, covered, into oven. Roast at 375 degrees about 20 minutes, then reduce to 325 and roast for about and hour to ninety minutes. Remove and check for temp (some people like goose rare, some fully cooked like you would poultry. 165 degrees is the safe MINIMUM temperature,so roast according to your preference.) Remove cover and briefly run under the broiler to crisp up the bacon.

Remove from oven and allow to rest about ten minutes. Slice across the grain and serve. I made a rice pilaf and simply cooked green beans to go with ours. I placed slices of the goose on the plate and drizzled with Red Wine Reduction.

RED WINE REDUCTION

1 cup red wine or port (I wanted to use port but didn't have any, didn't want a whole bottle so I bought a single Cabernet)
6 juniper berries
6 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf

Combine ingredients in small saucepan, bring to boil and reduce to syrupy. You will not have much in the pan but you don't NEED much for big flavor impact.

Now the verdict:  The goose came out with a texture, and incredibly, a flavor a lot like roast beef ! My brain is already working and thinking about how to cook the next batch we thaw !!

As The Condiments Continue.......

There might be too much of a good thing. Might be. Like mustard seed. I bought 1 pound of yellow, one pound of brown and then another half pound at Whole Foods thinking I'd have enough for a couple batches.

Um. No. I have enough to feed a crowd at Lambeau Field on tailgating day.

So tonight I started Batch Three this time using Newcastle Brown Ale, and some change up in the spice mixture. Before you say "Oh no.......another mustard recipe......" just remember, a few months mellowing in a cupboard and it will be bratwurst on the grill time again !!!

Anyway....... it's kind of a joke at my house that I can take black pepper and an ice cube and make a three course meal- we call that MacGuyer Dinner (get it??  MacGuyver?? never mind........)  So I'm always tweaking recipes and reworking them and trying new combos. Give me a basic beer mustard recipe and I can't leave that alone !!! So therefore, I am calling this one MacGuyer Mustard.

Monica's MacGuyver Mustard


1 12 oz bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale
1 1/2 cups mustard seed- I used half yellow and half brown
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tb salt (I used sea salt, use whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 TB dried minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 tsp ground dried ghost chile (as much as you dare)
1-2 tsp ground aji limon chile (again, as much as you dare)

** Note: I used the hot peppers grown in my garden, so if these exact kinds are not available you can substitute whatever you want- cayenne, jalapeno, habanero, Penzey's is a great source of peppers

The method is the same, mix all ingredients and allow to sit at room temp for 48 hours to bring out all the flavors. Buzz in the food processor to the consistency you like (I like mine fairly coarse). Then you're ready to jar it up and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes or store in fridge if you're not a canning kinda person. Mustard lasts in the fridge for a LONG time  without canning.

(Photo of Newcastle Brown Ale is courtesy of http://www.cookerati.com/new-castle-brown-ale-recipes/)

It's a Party !!!!!

Writing my little bitty blog has been a big part of my life the last year or so. And with that goes City Girl, Country Life on Facebook- where it all began !

And now FINALLY !!!!! City Girl has reached that MAGIC NUMBER, a milestone that at one time seemed near-impossible. 2000 Fans !! Yes, today, December 14, 2012, that milestone was achieved !!!

I remember the first 100. Boy, I thought I hit the big time. 100 people were reading my little posts and looking at my pictures !! But as time grew and that number grew, it became 200, then 500, then 1000 !!!

I've had the number go up and down, people leave Facebook or they got tired of my summer filled with canning, or they just got bored and dumped a bunch of pages they didn't pay much attention to. That's ok. That's life- we all do, right ?

Then I started making friends ! Real people- men and women with interests just like mine ! Trading info and recipes and ideas- getting to know people just like we were neighbors. Even the occasional celebrity !!

So here we are today. 2000 fans. Definitely time for a party, but instead of me getting all the gifts, one of YOU loyal followers is going to win, as my way to thank you for your support, your friendship and your incredible ability to help me stay focused on enjoying this blog and Facebook page, and enjoying my friendships with all of you.

What am I giving away ???   How about PRIZES !!!!

And how do you win ? In the comments below tell me who you are and how you found City Girl or Rockin The Kitchen and what keeps you interested and keeps you coming back. That's all. We will draw a random name and announce a winner on the "City Girl,Country Life" Facebook page on Friday, December 21. So simple !!!!!!

So good luck to all of you and have a very happy and safe holiday season !!

She is at is again !!

Sun Dried Tomato Mustard. Just has a nice ring to it, doesn't it ? So.....Tuscan. So cheese platey, pile of olivey (yes, I know I am making these words up). I thought so, so that was my Mustard Project #2.

The ingredients are easy to find, nothing most people wouldn't already have except maybe the quantity of mustard seeds. Mustard powder, vinegar, salt, garlic and dried tomatoes round out the grocery list.

Let's get to it !!

Sun Dried Tomato Mustard

1 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup yellow mustard seeds  (I stuck with the recipe on this one and didn't mix yellow and brown)
1 cup water
2 cups sun dried or dried tomatoes, cut in small pieces (NOT oil packed)
3 TB mustard powder
big pinch of salt
1 tb/clove or so minced garlic.

In glass bowl combine vinegar and mustard seed. Cover and let sit at least overnight until seeds has absorbed all the liquid. I decided to stick with the yellow seeds only because I didn't want to take away from the pretty bits of dried tomatoes in the finished mustard, but by all means, if you want to or have to, mix, please do so.

Add to work bowl of food processor.

Add tomatoes and all ingredients.

Cover and process until thickened and desired consistency. I like the coarse ground mustard texture so I leave quite a bit of visible seed in mine.

Prepare 1/4 pint jars for boiling water bath.  Fill with mustard to 1/4 inch headspace, fix lids and rings and process for 15 minutes.  Remove from canner and let cool.

"So what's the deal with all the mustard?" People keep asking me. I don't know, I like trying new things, I'm not really a Plain Jane kinda cook, I like experimenting and exploring flavors. Mustard is like a wide open canvas and my brain is loaded with ideas. Plus it's yummy on sandwiches !! Makes great additions to gift baskets. Nice to share with my venison sausage sharing friends. Goes GREAT with venison sausage in fact. Nice on a cheese plate. You're only limited by your imaginations and your likes. So give one a try- they are so easy to mix up, buzz in the processor and just a short time in the boiling water bath. I'd even say these are good for beginning canners  !

NOTE:  When choosing the sun dried tomatoes I went with the dry pack or raisiny type, and NOT the oil packed because I planned on processing in a boiling water bath. You should never use oils in home canned foods. HOWEVER, if you are making mustard to refrigerate or freeze and NOT process for shelf stability, it's perfectly ok to use the oil packer tomatoes.