Cast Iron Stuffing

I forgot to write this recipe down last Thanksgiving and this year I had to make it twice to get it right. So now I am writing it here so I can look it up next year. This stuffing is great because you don't cook it in the bird (for all the nervous salmonella people.) Brown one 8 oz package of breakfast sausage. (Do not use any flavored sausage like apple or maple. Our favorite is the Farmer John links.) Chop the sausage coarsely and place them in a large bowl. Add 6 cups of cubed sourdough 2 cups of sliced mushrooms the inner stalks of a celery head with the leaves (about 4-5) one large chopped onion 2-4 cloves minced garlic a handful of fresh chopped sage (in Idaho I still have sage in the garden during November) Drizzle 1/4 cup of melted butter over the top Mix in one beaten egg add salt and pepper Place the mixture in a large cast iron skillet coated lightly with olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 375 degrees for 60 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until browned.

Dutch Oven Tomatillo Pork Roast

We had our first prepared meal in our new home last night. It was appropriate, after honey's first day. I am not very experienced with cooking pork but with a little over the phone help from my mom we figured out a recipe.
I placed a 3 lb pork loin in a bowl with about 1/2 cup of homemade tomatillo salsa (any salsa verde would do) I marinated the loin approximately 30 minutes.

I heated my dutch oven on the stove top with a little olive oil. Then I seared the meat on both sides. Next I placed one large onion cut into wedges around the roast and scraped the remaining salsa marinade from the bowl into the dutch oven and sprinkled the entire thing with 1 tsp of salt. I covered it with a lid and baked it 2 hours at 350 degrees. Then I drained the juices, into my cast iron skillet and prepared a thin gravy. I added a drained can of black beans to the dutch oven and cooked it about 20 minutes more. I served it with brown jasmine rice.

The house is still littered with the signs of moving but last night it smelled like home.

Simple Fish Patties

This will work with 2 cans of salmon, crab, leftover fish from another meal, or a combination of fish and shrimp that is already cooked.

They are a quick and easy to prepare option when you forget to plan for dinner.

In a bowl place 2 cups of flaked fish
one handful of oats
one small handful of crackers, crush them as you add them to the bowl
2 eggs
1 Tbl lemon juice
garlic powder, salt, black or white pepper, paprika, crushed red pepper to taste
I scoop out about 1/4 cup and fry it in olive oil on a hot cast iron skillet until they are golden brown on each side.

I served these the other night, made with leftover halibut, with rice and some home canned peach salsa given to me by a friend. It was a perfect accompaniment. (Thanks Heather!)

The boys ended up rolling a patty into a sheet of nori and had a wasabi contest.

The funny thing is my honey and I did that years ago when we were dating. (He won.)

Frugal Sourdough

The kids and I (mostly me) were wondering just how cost effective making your own bread its. Taste aside, is it worth it?

We drew up a graph, went to the store and found the best price for all ingredients. We came home and after jotting down the recipes discovered generically: Yes, it is worth it.
(Not counting gas to purchase it or electricity/gas to cook it.)

The only variable would be if you hated making bread or you felt that it wasn't worth any effort to save one dollar or if you went through a whole cube of butter every time you pulled a loaf from the oven.

The only exception is that I regularly buy a sliced, hearty whole grain bread for sandwiches. I don't care for my homemade 100% wheat, as I mentioned before, but I everyone eating that for lunches.

For example, 2 loaves of French bread costs $1.03 to make, compared to $3.79 for 2 similar sized loaves. Country white bread (with milk, eggs and butter) was $1.26 and wheat came to $1.12. My most expensive loaf was Northern Maine Oatmeal bread using molasses, honey, oats and egg. It cost $1.40 each loaf. Imagine what you'd pay at a specialty shop. Keep in mind though this was using unbleached flour, real butter or extra virgin olive oil. Good stuff.

By far, the greatest savings was in my quick sourdough. The cost of this loaf was .78 cents. Directions: Place 3 cups of flour into a bowl. Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of sugar. Stir. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add 1/4 tsp of yeast. (yes that's all) (Note the following has been edited because of a mistake) Add enough water to 2 Tablespoons Apple cider vinegar to make 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Pour it on to the yeast. Stir well.
Let it sit covered, but not air tight for 24 hours.

For awhile I would stir up a new batch while the previous day's bread was baking. It became an easy routine because this bread is so simple.

It has a lovely texture. Pull the dough from the bowl and lightly press into a ball on a generously floured surface. You don't knead to need, you don't even need to knead. Pinch the bottom together to form a ball. Place on a lightly greased piece of tin foil and place a dutch oven in your oven, heat both to 450 degrees.

I haven't tried it without my dutch oven based on a podcast I watched from cooksillustratedonline.com.

You then lift the tin foil and transfer the bread to the hot dutch oven. Cover with the lid and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Tzatziki with homemade totilla chips

Why doesn't my eye cream work? Is it consistency? technique? Is this the face I am stuck with?
Last time I saw my dad he said I looked tired. I just answered, "yeah." I was -- but I was more reluctant to say "no this is just my old face."

The garden is ppfftt... from the snow last weekend. Summer has left us.

Am I leaving the summer of my life as well? Yes, today is my birthday.

I spoke with my mom about this topic and she said that you do forget how old you are until you look in the mirror. It is because you still have fire inside.

I have heard you could put cucumbers on your eyes but even when the garden was putting out left and right (it was when I was over watering) I still didn't want to waste them on my old face.

My honey didn't think he liked cucumbers unless they were in tzatziki but when he tasted the first garden cuke this year he was surprised. That isn't what a cucumber tastes like from the grocery store -- it tastes fresh, crispy, good...

How I will miss the garden food! Only 7 or 8 months to go, right?

My recipe for Tzatziki came from a cook book I bought before I was married. I think I was always destined to cook.

Instructions:
Dice one cucumber with the skin still on, place it in a colander with 2 tsp of salt and let it sit for one hour. This will pull moisture from the cuke so it isn't watery when you serve it.

Mash 2 garlic cloves with 1/2 tsp of salt, use the back of a spoon or a mortar and pestle.

Pat the cucumber dry with a paper towel and place it in a bowl with the garlic, 1 Tbl chopped fresh mint, 1 cup plain yogurt and fresh cracked pepper.

Serve with pita bread or tortilla chips.

If you make tortilla chips as I did here in my trusty skillet, you certainly want to eat less of them. Partly because of the time it takes to make only a few but also because you never really grasp how horrible deep fat frying is until you see it. But oh, they tasted good.

Welcome Autumn! Welcome to the chilly weather and welcome new season of my life.

Goulash, Broiled Potatoes

This morning we indulged in one of the benefits of homeschool, we slept an extra hour. I decided to make goulash (skillet hash) and wake the kids with the surprise of a hearty breakfast. The house was clean, quiet and all felt right in my world. I watched other kids running down the street to meet the bus before their 10 hour day and thanked God my husband supports, encourages homeschool.

I broil several cubed potatoes drizzled in olive oil and seasoning. They get a perfect crisp texture this way. Then I push the potatoes to the side of the pan and brown sausage and onion. I push that to the side and add eggs, careful not to stir them into the potatoes and meat until they have cooked so they are fluffy and light.

We were creative with goulash this past summer and added hominy and black beans to the dutch oven with the cooked sausage, salsa and onions, then covered it with whisked eggs, a lid and hot coals.

Maybe one of the reasons I like cast iron is it makes me feel like a pioneer. You have to be strong to lift the pan and everything is laced with a hint of the rugged outdoors.

All of my cast iron pans have been camping with us but I hate cleaning the black ash off of every thing so I think next year I might buy a new one for camping only.

Meatballs

I used to hate making meatballs, even though my family loves them. Frying was a time consuming process and they stuck to the pan becoming meat sauce instead of the smooth spheres I anticipated. I am not really sure why I decided to bake them the first time I did: I must have read something somewhere sometime...

While they are baking (of course in my cast iron skillet) I shake the handle a few times to keep them rolling around. Then I add them to the sauce later while it is simmering. They take very little time and cleaning my pan is easy. Another reason I love cast iron.

Normally I just serve right from the skillet, it is the center of the table any average night at our house. On a whim last night I decided to pull out my favorite bowls. They were a gift from my sister and I am sorry to say rarely used. I am afraid of breaking them. I am not unique here -- who pulls out the china on a nightly basis?

My bowls are beautiful colors and shaped like leaves. I was so afraid of putting a chink in them -- one thing I would never waste a thought on when I serve from cast iron.

I know I am not the first to wonder why I squirrel away something, afraid to use it because I might damage it and then never really enjoy it.

I never admire the shape of my bowls while they are snugly tucked in the cupboard. Just as I never admire or enjoy all the other things in my life I want to bring out but I am afraid of damaging. What other items has God entrusted to me that I bury?

I think in the end I envision my grown children commenting as they set the Thanksgiving table "I have such fond memories of these bowls. I hope they hold the food with all their chips and cracks." Rather than "I didn't know you had anything like this."

Our favorite Meatballs: Mix -- Shape -- Bake in a cast iron skillet till golden
1 lb lean ground beef
handful old fashioned oats
handful of crushed saltines
salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper (to taste)
1 Tbl dehydrated onions
2 eggs

My Cast Iron Skillet

I spent about 12 dollars on my first cast iron skillet. I bought it the year I was married, 1994. My husband verified my intentions more than once; he grew up with flimsy Teflon coated pans. What was I doing buying items for the kitchen from the camping store? I knew I wanted a cast iron skillet, I grew up using one.

Now, I knew even then that you weren’t “supposed” to use soap on cast iron. You also aren’t supposed to soak them because they can become rusty. Many times I had watched my grandmother use only a dry paper towel on hers before she returned it to the oven where she stored it. However, I was raised a semi-occasional vegetarian and the first time I cooked bacon in my skillet, not just meat but pork, I wondered if it would be contaminated forever. I held my breath and plunged the entire thing into a sink filled with frothy suds. The pan sizzled in the water and the acrid smell of burning soap made me question my actions.

You know what? Nothing happened. Except I had peace of mind next time I fried pancakes. I can cook fish curry with stinky feet sauce (as my family affectionately refers to Thai fish sauce) in the evening and serve sourdough French toast the next morning from the very same pan. Food rarely sticks to the smooth black surface. Other than being heavy when full of food, I cannot imagine a more durable, perfect utensil in my kitchen.

So here’s to 14+ years of getting it wrong and doing it anyway!