Jen here.  I know – it’s been a while.  I’ve been pretty busy lately.  We’ve been cooking things like brown rice, and bacon ricotta pasta, and focaccia made from my 5-minute bread dough (I’ll post details later) but nothing new and exciting.  But, the cooking holiday of the year is coming up, and I wanted to share a recipe we’re going to try this year (so, no action shots yet, except for one I just took today of the prep work).

The craziness in my world stems from the fact that my brother-in-law, Mike, passed away completely unexpectedly at the end of October.  He loved to cook, and while I was talking with my niece after his funeral, she remembered how he had served pumpkin soup one year that she had come up for Thanksgiving.  In the aftermath of all the organizing, mourning and cleaning, I ran across a recipe of Mike’s, which was his “Quick Creamy Pumpkin Soup.”  So, in his honor, I will be making this for my family this year year, since we will be hosting Thanksgiving at our house.  I don’t know for certain if this is what he served that year, but it will be his Thanksgiving recipe from now on.  I love how fast it goes together.  There’s also a bit of versatility, too.  I’ll be doubling this for Thanksgiving.

First, you’ll need canned pumpkin, or pumpkin puree.  I’m making mine using these directions from Nourishing Heart & Home (a lovely website).  I tried it the first time a couple of weeks ago, after somebody threw a pumpkin at our front door.  You know, when life gives you lemons (or a cracked sugar pie pumpkin), make lemonade (or pumpkin puree).  These are actually the three small pumpkins we bought right before Halloween, that we never carved (there just wasn’t time).  I’m roasting them as we speak.  The first pumpkin gave me 3-1/2 cups of puree that in my freezer.  (One tip:  I pureed my pumpkin in my blender, and had to add a bit of water.  This time I’m going to use the water that’s in the roasting pan.)

Quick Creamy Pumpkin Soup from Mike Nebeker

Put chicken broth in a 2-quart saucepan.  Stir in pumpkin.  Heat until pumpkin is hot.  Add cream and pepper.  Puree in a blender (use your immersion blender here) until smooth.  Serve in bowls with a light sprinkling of nutmeg.

A few weeks back I wrote about how much we were enjoying the show 100-Mile Challenge. It ended after 6 weeks. It appeared that either interest or funding collapsed and the show condensed in to repetitions of what we’d already seen for the last two weeks. Suffice to say, we felt a bit cheated, and it didn’t help that our other standby shows have been just awful … think crime show featuring grizzly bears in the everglades, and yes, it was that bad. But, one great thing that came out of the 100-Mile Challenge was a recipe I have yet to try for Honey Caramel, but I will because it looks OH SO GOOD!

I also just finished reading their book entitled The 100-Mile Diet: a Year of Local Eating or Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet. The first is the version I read from our Library, but theoretically it’s the Canadian/Australian version, and the second is the American version. I have no idea the differences in the American version, but maybe they are a little kinder towards the American way of eating, but I doubt it.

We’ve also made the difficult decision to not continue with our community garden next year. There are various factors including travel, time required, other priorities including getting our own house with our own yard, and the bit of drama the community garden is currently experiencing with it’s “reorganization”. Not to mention the fact that they tilled up our carrots, beets and kale that were happily growing into their winter sweetness.

After all this, my heart has been aching to find ways to support local farms and dairies and to be a little more self-sufficient. I don’t just want to grow my own food, but I want to take care of our planet in so doing. We have a lead on a wonderful CSA, but their prices just went up 50% this week and I’m not sure that’s going to fly with us. So, I’ve planted garlic and horseradish in our front yard, we have a few upsidedown hanging pots for tomatoes for next year, and the herbs should be happy now that I’ve removed the GIANT lemon balm and pineapple sage. We have also decided to buy local dairy products at the Winder Country Store in West Valley. It’s a bit of a drive, but we can buy 4 gallons of milk, cream, cottage cheese, and sour cream (and Egg Nog this time of year) and it will keep for a good while (it’s super fresh when we buy it) for not much more than we normally spend at Costco. The milk is tastier too, somehow creamier, and it should make good yogurt as well. I can’t wait to try making cheese with it.

But, this wasn’t enough. So, we are now the proud owners of a fully installed window shelf and growlight Matt found online. The growlight can go up and down easily having been installed onto a $1 shade we bought several years ago – love the repurposing! I plan on transplanting my rosemary from outside and bringing it in for the winter, and maybe I’ll grow some lettuce, green onions, basil and chives to bring life to our otherwise dreary kitchen in the winter. I love that my husband is handy enough to figure stuff like this out. and the whole light contraption is hidden by sliding it up behind by the cute shade made by Matt’s mom.

I know I need to find more to fill my local fix, but it will take time, and I will very likely never give up a lot of things like oats and sugar and bread, but I’ll try new things if I must. Now, if we could only get started on actual construction in the basement … speaking of other projects.

Such a boring title, I know, but it’s one that has haunted and plagued me for the last 10+ years, having lived in the high deserts. We live at about 4200 feet in elevation, give or take, and while it seems like baking is baking, deflated cakes, over-risen bread, and hard waffles are all indicative of the weirdness of where we live.

So, I want to share some easy resources I have found for those in similar situations. I have had great success with my last two recipes – Jennifer’s King Arthur waffles and pumpkin cookies – using this information.

The first came out of the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion (which is still on my list). I tried to find it online, but to no avail, so I scanned it and included it (link below).

high altitude baking from king arthur

They also recommended I check out the Colorado State Extension Office’s pamphlet. I haven’t tested it yet, but it looks concise and useful.

Thank you King Arthur. I will shamelessly promote your website because I love it. The recipes are wonderful and I wish I owned (and had room to store) all of your nifty gadgets.

We’ll start with the show. After putting our two-year old to bed, we admit to snuggling up on the couch and watching TV. I know it’s not as mind expanding as reading or as useful as home improvement projects, but it’s a step up from hanging out on separate computers or one of us falling asleep while the other futzed around. We’re getting sick of CSI, (even with an episode all about GMOs and agribusiness), so we found a new show On Demand. It’s called 100 Mile Challenge, and it’s a reality show about six-plus families in British Columbia town that participate in a challenge to eat ONLY food produced within 100 miles of their town for 100 days. That includes spices, yeasts, leavening agents, and chocolate. Being the nerds we are, we have really liked watching the three episodes that have already aired. We’re reminded of our interest in eating more locally produced, sustainable food. There are a lot of reasons why we have those interests, but this isn’t the post about those.

Tonight we had a baby-sitter and our child did NOT get sick like last week and I’m feeling almost normal, so we went on a date. (You can hear cheering in the background.) We found a restaurant that touts “Farm to Table” and the menu looked promising. We managed to get reservations for 5:30, which was a great time considering my pathetic attempts at eating today had been foiled and I was starving.

The restaurant is called Pago. I am providing the link because it’s fair to get an idea of what our plans included. Upon arrival (mind you, Matt called to make the reservations only an hour prior), there was a lot of confusion as to whether or not we were on the “list”. This is a small restaurant with only 47 seats, so there wasn’t much room for us to stand during the 10 minutes spent waiting for clarification and seating. And it took 4 people to figure it out (which is probably 80% of the staff). Eventually they figured out their mistake and sat us at a table for 5 (clearly not set aside for us and right next to the door and bar) and we got a menu. The food looked lovely, albeit pretentious, and we finally settled on both getting the potato fennel soup and splitting the chicken and the halibut. We already felt like the black sheep of the restaurant, but we were willing to keep trying.

The soup was lovely and probably the reason I don’t try to make potato soup, because mine always tastes like really thin mashed potatoes. That’s not necessarily bad, but not lovely and velvety.

Then dinner came. I started in on the halibut and my second bite was cold. COLD? Yes, cold. The middle was raw, well, actually, most of it was raw. After 5 minutes of looking like I needed help (and mind you, we’re right next to the servers’ station, the bar, and the door), I finally got the bus boy’s attention and I asked if he could get our server for us, which he seemed to start doing, but apparently failed. I watched a three minute conversation between them and a few others with some laughing and jockeying, and our server continued doing what he was doing and the bus boy left. Finally, after another 5 minutes, I got the server’s attention, asked if the halibut was supposed to be cooked “rare” and he took it back for repair. A few minutes later, it was returned, still not fully cooked, but I was sort of over it by that point and pretty full from sharing Matt’s chicken. Upon return, the halibut couldn’t stand up to the flavors combined with it, and I’m not sure if it was the lack of thorough cooking (good halibut likes to be fully cooked) or if it was because the chef just reheated my piece of halibut (which no fish ever likes – twice baked potatoes are one thing, but twice baked fish?) or if the flavors just weren’t meant to be. I ate what I could because the potatoes and sauce were quite pleasant in their own right, and our plates were taken away.

It’s hard not to feel like we’d been shoved in a corner (“No one puts Baby in a corner”), but I think we had been. I had to ask what the soup and risottos of the day were after our server walked away from our table and he still seemed confused as to what they were, but I later overheard multiple other tables receive the whole rundown of ALL the specials, including what sounded like a lovely dover sole entree.

For our pains, we were given a complimentary dessert, which we ate and enjoyed upon returning home, but bananas are in no way and no how a local (or even feigned and attempted to hide them by looking like such – at least apples are in season here) food.

I have just one question: Why must local and sustainable eating in Salt Lake City be expensive and pretentious? The masses will never catch on that way, and I think that’s the only way it can really work, or maybe we ought to leave it to the high-minded, uber-cool to save the planet, our farms, and our communities. Perhaps if I’d worn a big scarf or skinny jeans or funky boots and looked like I didn’t care …

I made this for a harvest party last month and promised to get it posted. I presumed I’d make it again but we’ve traveled and I’ve been a bit unpredictable lately, so no picture, but here’s the recipe. It’s yummy, pretty cheap with good protein, and SUPER FAST, and if you’re really lucky, on a cold day it will warm you to the bone. Even my two-year-old loves it, but who doesn’t love beans and sausage in a tomato-y mustardy brown sugary sauce?

Hot Bean Dinner
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
1 link (16 to 20 oz.) Kielbasa or Smoked Sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cans beans, may include Lima or Butter beans, Kidney beans, Cannelini, drained
1- 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2-Tablespoons Brown Sugar
3-Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
3-Tablespoons Spicy Brown Mustard

Brown sausage, and add onion, cooking until softened. Add everything else, bring to a boil, cover, and then simmer for 15 minutes!! Can be kept warm or on low heat for a long time, reheats and freezes well.

Serve with buttered bread, best with rye.

The first time I ate this was with a large group of 25 or so people, including 9 children under the age of 6. The chili sauce was served cooked with a pork roast and some added worchestershire, mustard, brown sugar and ketchup. Plates were cleaned, the kids ate it right up, my cousin Greg went back for thirds and even brought a tupperware of sauce home for later. Rave reviews all around.

In making it myself I was suprised it called for so much vinegar but that’s only because I am still a greenie with the canning and processing of tomato ingredients.

This chili sauce is very versatile. It can be used as a condiment, as a marinade as mentioned above on a pork roast and then for pulled pork sandwiches or quesadillas, or even mixed with cranberry sauce and meatballs in a crockpot for the holidays.

Thank you Kim, I am grateful for the many lessons in the kitchen you have shared! A girl couldn’t ask for a more wonderful step-mom.

Chili Sauce

8 lb. tomatoes, blanched peeled and chopped
4 red & 4 green peppers
3 c. diced celery
3 c. diced onion
2 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 T salt
2 cinnamon sticks
2 hot chili peppers or 2 t dried red pepper
2 t whole cloves
1 T mustard seed
1 T celery seed
3 c. cider vinegar

Cook uncovered for 45 minutes. Add spices. Cook another30 minutes until thickened.

(You can add sugars with spices to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Water bath process canning for 10 minutes (20 in the altitude.)

Makes about 8 pints.

Tip: Grab a friend and double the recipe. The chopping will be finished more quickly, ingredient contributions can be divided and really, who doesn’t enjoy a friend in the kitchen?

We have reconnected with our favorite banana bread recipe and still love it! I keep making double batches and they haven’t yet lasted longer than 48 hours- a couple weeks ago we had a couple loaves disappear within 3! So, here it is. Hope you like it as well.

Banana Bread

1 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Softened Butter
3 Ripe Bananas, mashed
2 Eggs, well beaten
1 1/4 c. Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda

Cream together sugar and butter. Add bananas and eggs. Sift dry ingredients together 3 times. Blend banana mixture and flour mixture. Do not overmix.

Bake in greased and floured loaf pan at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

**At high altitudes, decrease baking soda to 3/4 tsp. and add another Tbl. flour. If the center still doesn’t bake, increase temperature to 375 degrees (you may need to cook for a few minutes less, just keep an eye on it.)

Jen here.  Hey, I’m all about quick and tasty right now.  We’ve gotten busier around here – I’m full-time  homeschooling mom, who spent her first week of school combating seasonal ants!  “A” was supposed to be for apples, not ant invasion on a daily basis (I know, we should call for pest control).

Tomatoes and basil from our garden! Finally - harvest to enjoy!

Anyway, I bought this book that I talked about last time I was here.  I had to give my library copy back because there’s a waiting list . . .

After we got home from church today (about 12:30), I mixed up the “Olive Oil Dough” on page 134.  I only used the storage container, 1 measuring spoon (yeast, salt, and sugar), 2 measuring cups (flour, water and olive oil), a knife for the flour and a wooden mixing spoon.   I let it rise on the counter until it pushed the lid off of my repurposed ice cream bucket, not quite 2 hours – it’s a pleasantly warm day today.  Then I put the bucket in my fridge until about 4:30 this afternoon.  We followed the technique on page 135 for cooking our pizza (550° for about 8 minutes on a pizza stone) and had some of the best homecooked pizza we’ve had in a long time (and we do really like the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook but this has fewer things to clean up).

The kids made their own kid-sized perfect pizzas (mozzarella and canned black olives, no sauce), which took about 6 minutes too cook.  We then made a couple of adult pizzas, our version of a Pizza Margherita (mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, fancy olives – various green and black, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil), and a BBQ chicken pizza with previously grilled chicken strips pulled from the freezer, and some of the kid’s canned black olives.  Both were very delicious.  I’m a very contented person right now.

If you’ve heard about “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes” and were uncertain about the technique, give it a shot.  I stayed skeptical for about a year after hearing about it.  I didn’t believe it was that easy (yes, there’s still rising times, but I don’t have to watch or wash my Kitchen Aid).  I can’t wait to try more.  So far we’ve been pleased with every recipe we tried.  Maybe on our next school vacation (or for a school unit study) I’ll try the sweet dough and the breakfast pastries.

You know – I’m seeing fresh hot pizza for lunches on a school day.  Definitely a step up from square school cafeteria pizza.  I’m going to have to get working on my mozzarella production.  See you around the kitchen!

P.S.  The first time I ever saw the man who was going to be my husband, he was tossing pizza dough in the air.  My kids love when he does his pizza tricks on pizza day!  He worked a couple of years at a pizza place in his youth.  You never know where those high school job skills will take you!

My good friend Charmayne shared this sensational recipe for salsa, one that has proven to be tried and true in her family for years.  She said she makes four batches and it is rarely enough to last the year.  My four-year-old son and I (he peeled and squeezed the tomatoes) made a batch and it is yumalicious.

Charmayne’s Salsa

1 gallon of peeled and chopped tomatoes
6-7 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic salt
Peppers vary.  This year, I used 9 anaheim peppers with 3 jalapeno peppers.  You can adjust whether you like the heat or not by de-seeding the pepper as well. 

Put all ingredients in lrg. pot and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 2 hours.  Put in pint jars with lids and bands and waterbath for 10 minutes after water starts to boil. 
Each recipe makes about 8 pints.
tip- I chop my tomatoes with my pampered chef chopper to get the right consistency that I like and then I use the food processor for the onions and peppers.

I’d never had cherry conserves before this recipe.  Now, I’m in love.  I wish I had a picture of it’s beauty but the security guards at the airport gate confiscated it- apparently they are considered a liquid.  I just thought they were lovely and a nice gift for family.  Instead they graced the bottom of a dumpster.  So sad!

Our family did eat a couple pints first.  My favorite use was in plain, homemade yogurt.  It was also delicious on roast pork.

Black Cherry Conserve

 4 c. sweet cherries
2 Med navel oranges, peeled, seeded, and chopped (½ c. juice and pieces)
½ c. honey
½ c lemon juice
2 T grated orange zest
¾ t. ground cinnamon
6 whole cloves

 In a large enamel or stainless steel saucepan, combine the cherries, oranges, oney, lemon juice, rind and cinnamon. Put the cloves into a cheesecloth bag and add to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 20 minutes. Bring back to boil for 4 or 5 minutes, until thickened.

To can: Pour into hot scalded half-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Seal and process for 15 (25 in Utah) minutes in a boiling water bath.