Homemade Vegetable Stock

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Yesterday I told you about not just pearl onions, but Cipollini and red boiler onions as well. Today I am going to advise you to buy a few extra containers of these specialty onions, because they add so much more flavor and color to homemade vegetable stock than white or yellow onions tend to do. If you haven’t made vegetable stock in the past, let me tell you it is incredibly easy, extremely inexpensive, and not only adds depth to vegetarian dishes calling for stock, but soups and stews as well. It is also a great sipping broth, and who couldn't use a nice, warm, cup of broth on bitingly cold winter days? What a delicious way to add flavor to any dish while fend off colds and flu.

Homemade Vegetable Stock

 
1 7-oz. pkg. Melissa's Cipollini onions, washed but not peeled
1 7-oz. pkg. Melissa's Red boiler onions, washed but not peeled

1 leek, cleaned and cut into chunks

3 large carrots, cleaned and cut into chunks
4 celery stalks, cleaned and cut into chunks

½ c. more or less, cleaned mushroom stems
1 Bay leaf
1 small bunch of fresh parsley
1 teaspoon rainbow peppercorns
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 cups water

Put all ingredients into a stock pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool, stream through a fine mesh sieve, and then store in the refrigerator for up to one week, or freezer for up to four months.

Feel free to experiment with onions, choosing scallions, shallots, or leeks, as well as using various herbs and seasonings of your choice.

Peeling Small Onions

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 I already have my eye on Thanksgiving, and what that means is Creamed Onions. It’s always a favorite dish, so I tend to serve it often on holidays that fall in the autumn and winter months. It can be work if you don’t plan ahead, but I always do by peeling the onions, labeling, bagging, and putting them in the freezer. I love having them on hand for anything I might need.

If you have only tried using pearl onions in recipes that call for them, you are missing a lot of flavor by ignoring Cipollini and Red Boiler Onions. In the past, I have provided you with a tutorial on how to easily peel pearl onions; you can find that post here. You can treat cipollini onions and red boiler onions in the same manner, just extend the boiling time to 4 minutes and 30 seconds. They come out beautifully, and are going to add more depth to your casserole.

That’s your tip for today.

Black and White and Red-Eye Chili

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When the temperatures dip into the 40s, and I find myself stacking logs in the fireplace, I know that chili season is upon us. Every year, I try to come up with something new, and this year, feeling a bit of whimsy, I came up with a title before I came up with the recipe. Everything, in my opinion, can be improved with the addition of coffee, hence the red-eye reference in the name, and this version of chili uses both black beans and white kidney beans (cannellini). I doubled up on the amount​​ of meat that I generally use, and this was a real winner. I served it with my favorite cornbread, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the meal. 

Black & White & Red-Eye Chili

2 lb. ground chuck

1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s shallots, chopped

1 c. diced Melissa’s Fire Roasted Red Bell Peppers

1 clove Melissa’s elephant garlic, minced

1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained

1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, drained

1½ c. strong, brewed coffee

1 tsp. beef soup base

1 T. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. smoked salt

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. adobo

Place the beef in a skillet and cook over medium heat evenly brown. Drain on paper towel-lined plate.

 

Place the beef in a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients. Give it a good stir and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or high 5-6.

Chocolate Toffee Bars

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 Had I not been so keenly interested in covering this cookie with toffee bits, I may have considered some of the darling Halloween sprinkles that are available in the shops today. But, what can I say? I didn't. No matter, the toffee bit topping was a huge hit with the masses that I am trying to feed these days. Consider this bar cookie when a dessert is in order, time is short, and you’re looking for something easy — perhaps portable — that everyone will love.

Chocolate Toffee Bars

BASE
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1½ cups flour

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil, allowing a 2-inch overhang on either end. This facilitates easy removal.

Cream together butter, brown sugar, and flour, until well blended. Press into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool while preparing the topping.

CARAMEL LAYER
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup butter

In a medium pan over medium heat, heat sweetened condensed milk and butter together, stirring constantly for 8-10 minutes until thickened. Spread over cooled base. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven.

TOPPING
1½ cups chocolate chips
¾ cup Heath toffee bits

Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Bake a final two minutes until chocolate is shiny and soft. Remove from oven. Spread chocolate evenly with a small offset spatula; sprinkle toffee bits generously over the top. Cool and cut into bars.

Cajun Chicken Pasta Florentine

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There’s good news and bad news. The good news is, number two son and his wife put their house up for sale and sold it the first day. The bad news is that the house they’re building won’t be ready until November 19. So… enter good old, mom. You guessed it, my son, daughter-in-law, and their two cats descended upon my home ten days ago, moving into the lower level. Thank goodness they have enough space to spread out, enjoy their alone time as much as I do, and are adventurous eaters. It was a bit of an adjustment for all of us initially, but, once again, I have someone to cook for, so was eager to try a Cajun chicken pasta recipe on them. This goes together fairly easily, and if you start your pasta water when cutting your chicken, this meal can be on the table in 30 minutes time. Thumbs up all around.

Cajun Chicken Pasta Florentine

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts,* cut into thin strips
8 oz. rigatoni (or pasta of choice), cooked al dente,

reserving ½ c. pasta water

1 T. Cajun Seasoning
2 T. butter
2 scallions, sliced
1 c. heavy cream
¼ c. chopped Melissa’s sun-dried tomatoes
Pinch salt, or to taste
½ t. dried basil
¼ t. garlic powder
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
1-2 handfuls fresh baby spinach

Place chicken strips and Cajun seasoning into a large bowl; toss to coat.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter or until tender, 6-8 minutes. Reduce heat and add scallions, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and heat through. Add spinach and allow to wilt. Stir in heavy cream, bring to a simmer, and continue cooking until mixture thickens slightly. If mixture becomes too thick, thin with reserved pasta water. Toss with hot pasta and serve immediately.

*Can substitute shrimp for chicken

A.M. Delight Muffins

When I was going through my mother’s recipe box a while ago (in search of the elusive chili sauce recipe), I stumbled upon this one, cut from a magazine (from appearances, my guess would be Taste of Home), and stapled together. I don’t recall her ever making these muffins, so, muffin person that I am, thought it my duty to give them a try. I liked them!

I am not a person who enjoys sugary sweetness in the morning. While I do love a good donut — the bigger the better — along with the rest of you, I want mine in the evening, after dinner, with a cup of coffee. In which case, I found these to be the perfect breakfast muffin for me. They have a lot of flavor, thanks to the apples, carrots, coconut, and raisins, a bit of a crunch thanks to the nuts (I swapped walnuts for the called for almonds), and, despite the three-quarter cup of sugar, only have a delicate sweetness, nothing heavy or cloying. A slathering of pumpkin cream cheese on top of a warm muffin was the perfect fall breakfast.

A.M. Delight Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
Pinch of cloves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
½ cup of vegetable oil
½ cup whole milk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chopped, peeled, Organic Melissa’s Granny Smith Apples
2 cups freshly grated carrots
½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
½ cup golden raisins
½  cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease or paper-line muffin cups; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla. Mix well; stir in dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until muffins test done.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen.

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Aunt Gladys' Chili Sauce

Today, as promised, is the recipe for my great aunt’s chili sauce, that I have since named after her. If you could read the framed and wall-mounted recipe that I posted yesterday, you may have noticed that it yielded quite a large quantity. I cut this recipe in half, made a few tweaks, and couldn’t be happier. One taste, and it took me back to when I was four years old, and first sampled this toothsome condiment in my great aunt Gladys’s kitchen.

Aunt Gladys' Chili Sauce

12 large homegrown tomatoes

1½ 3-oz. pkgs. Melissa’s shallots, finely diced

3 cups granulated sugar

3 cups cider vinegar

½ t. cinnamon

½ t. ground cloves

½ t. ground ginger

½ t. allspice

2 T. kosher salt

2 jalapenos, finely chopped

4 Melissa’s Organic Granny Smith Apples, finely diced

Place all above ingredients EXCEPT the apples into a large stockpot on the stove. Bring mixture to a boil. Turn heat down to allow to simmer, and cook for 2 hours. Add apples and cook an additional 30-60 minutes until mixture thickens to your liking. Seal while hot.

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