There are food blogs and then there are food blogs. I just discovered one that’s geared for the wanna-be homesteader. And it’s written by a former local who now lives in Oregon. Courtney Wayne Queen is a graduate of Soquel High and the Cabrillo College culinary arts program, where my grandson is now a student.
She got interested in healthful foods some time ago and did an internship on an organic farm, learned to love growing her own food, and is an enthusiastic supporter of her local organic farms.
Her blog, Butter for All is a compendium of her favorite recipes, in which she tries to use organic, non-GMO ingredients where possible. One section of the blog goes into the various sweeteners you can use instead of refined sugar. They include dates, coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, evaporated cane juice, and molasses.
She also lists all the small appliances that allow her to prepare and preserve fresh foods at home. A dehydrator, for example, is good for preserving fresh fruits and some vegetables. A pressure canner speeds canning, and ceramic non-stick pans don’t leach harmful chemicals into your cooking.
The list also includes ice cream maker, fermenting jars, a meat grinder, a food mill, glass storage jars, a spice grinder, a stand mixer, a food processor and much more. The site links to where you can buy each one.
She even recommends a product collection for your yard (bee hive, bat house, chicken coop, composter, etc.), your bookshelf (books on fermenting, organic gardening, cheese making, keeping chickens, etc.), and your pantry (organic teas, coconut oil, stevia, and starters for yogurt, kefir and sourdough).
And of course, there are the recipes — for Fire-Roasted Eggplant Baba Ganoush, Butter-Top Sourdough Sandwich Bread, Traditionally Fermented Spicy Vegetables, Bacon and Shrimp Alfredo, and much more. And you can sign up for free recipes and a newsletter. Go to butterforall.com.
Chicken In Foil
We had a Rotary presidents’ dinner at Sid Slatter’s vineyard, and he put his smoker to great use. He and Wes Walker wrapped up foil packets containing chicken halves, corn, carrots, and potatoes. These went into the smoker for a few hours. When opened, the aroma was knock-out good!
The chicken was juicy-juicy, and the vegetables were tender and aromatic. I figured it would be easy enough to do at home in the oven. And it was.
Use heavy-duty foil, if you have it. Or use regular foil. Lay a chicken breast on one end of a sheet of foil about two feet long. Add quartered creamer potatoes, carrot chunks, and two-inch lengths of corn on the cob.
You can use other vegetables if you wish—onion wedges, bell pepper slices, golden beets, sweet potato chunks, or whatever. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with your choice of seasonings—oregano, basil, garlic granules, poultry seasoning, or anything that suits your taste.
Fold over the foil and crimp the edges to form a packet. Do this for each serving. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in a preheated 375-degree oven for about an hour. When the vegetables are tender and the chicken cooked through, carefully open the packets (watch the steam!), and place each serving on a plate. Pour the juices over all.
Contact Donna Maurillo at sentinelfood@maurillo.com
Tip Of The Week
• If you can’t get the jar lid to open, wear rubber or nitrile gloves. Or put a rubber band around the lid. You’ll get a better grip.
Recipe Of The Week
Thanks to the Butter for All blog for this delicious soup. It’s perfect for autumn vegetables, and it makes enough for leftovers.
CELERY ROOT, LEEK, AND BACON SOUP
Serves 8-12
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces sliced bacon
3 extra-large leeks
1 large celery root (about 1 1/2 pounds)
12 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1: Cut the bacon into 1/2-inch strips. In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon just until it starts to crisp.
2: While the bacon is cooking, trim both ends of the leeks, removing the roots and the tougher green foliage. Reserve the greens. Slice the white stalks lengthwise. Rinse out any sand. Cut the stalks crosswise into ½-inch slices. Set aside.
3: When the bacon is ready, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Set aside. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the leeks to the pot. Sauté in the hot bacon fat. While the leeks cook, peel the celery root.
4: Once peeled, cut the celery root into chunks about the size of an egg. When the leeks are soft and translucent, add the chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any of the fond (caramelized sugars) from the bottom of the pot. Add the celery root. Bring the pot to a gentle boil.
5: Cook the soup until the celery root is soft and fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Using a handheld blender. purée the soup until it’s smooth. Add salt and pepper, adjusting seasonings as needed, based on how much salt is in the bacon.
6: In a small bowl. mix the sour cream and milk. Pull back the outer leaves on some of the reserved leek greens. Use the very tender centers to slice thin little rounds to garnish the soup. Drizzle each serving with the sour cream mixture.
