Guest Post: Homespun Sundays from Off Her Cork

As the Hounds in the Kitchen are actually paddling across a lake in Canada right now, we've invited some of our favorite bloggers to come fill the space here.  Today's guest post is from Andrea, a fellow Columbus food lover.

Hi guys! My name is Andrea and my little home on the web is over at Offhercork.com. I talk about various things, but mostly about food because I love it so much! Food is one thing that everyone has in common. We all need to eat and every one of us could describe a favorite meal if asked.

One thing that I really try to focus on regarding the food that I eat, serve my family, and serve others is making sure it is as clean as possible. Clean eating to me means:

Local Foods: Something that is raised, manufactured, created, or made close to where I live. I try to make sure that the majority of our food intake comes from local sources. Produce from Farmer’s Markets and other local suppliers. Local eggs, poultry, and meat. If I didn’t live in the Midwest, I would be looking for local seafood as well!

Fresh Foods: I try and make sure that what we are eating is supplied to us fresh and not something that has been sitting on a shelf or at the store for very long.

Whole Foods: Not to be confused with the grocery store! Whole Foods mean real wholesome foods as opposed to processed and factory made foods. I try to keep our intake of processed foods down to a very serious minimum. Microwave meals? Nope. Boxed cake mixes? Nope. Refrigerated cookie dough? No way!

Unfortunately, the majority of foods that people eat in the U.S. are processed. We all know that fast food is bad for you, but those “lean” microwave meals, canned soups, and boxed mac ‘n cheese aren’t a whole lot better. Those are all processed foods. Processed foods contain chemicals, additives, and preservatives along with tons of sodium. Stuff our bodies do not need. As an individual you should be the one deciding what goes into your body and what doesn’t. Don’t leave that choice up to a big corporation who’s main goal is to make money ,not supply you with quality food.

If you make food at home, you are the one who is in control. You decide what goes into the meal, what seasonings to use, and how much to make. It’s fresh and you know where it came from. With processed foods, you have no idea when it was made, where it came from, and what all happened to it before it hit your counter. Why put that into your body?

To help promote the benefits of meals made at home, I’ve created Homespun Sundays on my blog. The idea behind Homespun Sundays is that one day out of the week (Sunday), every meal eaten is something that is made at home and from scratch. If you want pancakes for breakfast, set aside the icky boxed pancake mix and make the pancakes yourself! If you are going to have a lasagna dinner, don’t heat up a family sized frozen box, instead make it yourself!

Making meals at home is easy and does not have to be time consuming. They are healthier and they put you in charge of the ingredients.

One day a week, no processed foods. Want to join in? Just let me know!

Goodbye Hounds and Kitchen, Hello Canadian Wilderness!

We're off on our adventure to Canada.  The car is full of food, gear, and toys.  Guest posts are scheduled and ready to keep you entertained for the week. Tune in Sunday for our 19 person paddling meal plan.

We ate our 'last meal' tonight, a frittata of backyard chicken eggs with homegrown tomatoes, green beans, garlic, shallots, and herbs.  On the side were our very first new potatoes of the year.  (They really shouldn't be harvested yet but I was watering the other garden the other day and couldn't resist seeing how the tubers were progressing.)  I savored every fresh delicious bite, knowing that plenty of fast food and dehydrated meals are in my future.

I was reflecting that this trip will be the first time in years that I will be truly electronic free.  Because of owning the online store and writing this blog, every vacation I've taken since Lil's birth has included at least some phone and Internet communication, i.e. 'work'.  Between Sunday and Friday, no work will be done by me at least.  (Someone, ahem Alex, is bringing several communication devises...)

In the absence of the computer and smartphone, I expect to enjoy:

writing with a pen and paper

wildlife

clouds and stars, uncut by wires and airplanes

fully present family

silence

May you also experience peace this week.  I look forward to sharing pictures and stories upon my return.

Creamy Berry Tartlets

Sometimes you have enough berries to make a pie or jam, but sometimes due to high prices or small harvests, you only have a few at hand.  Whenever I have just a few of something I like to savor them fully in a recipe such as this. Because of the simplicity of the preparation, the quality of the berries and crust are key.  You can purchase tart crusts frozen from a store or make your own from phyllo, puff pastry, or pate brisee.  I made these perfectly flaky crusts from home made shortening and flour pie dough cut with a highball glass and baked in stoneware muffin pan.

This recipe for tarts allows the fruit to really shine.  I recently served it with blueberries as pictured for a cooking class dessert.  Any very fresh ripe fruit such as raspberries, strawberries, or kiwi, can be substituted.

If taking this dish to a picnic or serving to a large crowd, make the crust, berry, and cream filling components separately.  Combine only at the last minute before service to ensure that the crust doesn't get soggy or berries leach their juice into the cream.

Creamy Berry Tarts Makes 18 Time: 15 minutes

18 muffin sized pastry shells at room temperature 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2-3 cups washed fruit

Beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until smooth with a wire whisk or stand mixer. Spoon cream into pastry shells.  Top with berries.

Overnight Marinated Kale Salad

I could call this recipe the 'convert kale salad' for all the people who hate kale but love this dish.  It could be named 'Basi Italia Rip-Off' because I first tasted the salad at the elegant Basi Italia restaurant in Columbus and have been recreating it in my kitchen ever since.  Another good title would be 'best salad ever' as someone always declares as much when I serve it.  It is refreshing in summer and useful to make with bountiful local kale in cooler months too.

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Marinated Kale Salad Servings: 10 Time: 15 minutes prep, overnight marination

5-6 cups kale, washed and cut into thin strips.  Any type works; the lacinato or dinosaur kale tastes best.

1/2 cup dried fruit.  Basi uses dried currants; my version has dried cherries

1/2 cup nuts or seeds.  Basi uses pine nuts but since my episode of pine mouth I substitute sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon honey

zest and juice of one lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler (omit and add 1/4 teaspoon salt for a vegan dish)

Mix kale, fruit, lemon zest and seeds in a glass bowl.  In a separate dish, mix lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey to make a dressing.  Pour dressing over kale and toss to coat evenly.  Refrigerate overnight or for six hours minimum.  Before serving, toss in Parmesan shavings.

[/print_this] Recipe added to Fight Back Friday.

Luminescence

When one prepares an ingredient from raw to plate, one learns all the secrets: where succulent flesh gives way to stone, the bitterest part of the leaf, how light shines through fat. It's a gift, to know a thing through and through.

How to Freeze Berries

Did you pick strawberries last week and then receive quarts of them in your CSA this week?  That's the case with many of my friends who are now looking for quick ways to process the excess. The fastest way to preserve berries, in my opinion, is freezing.  Frozen berries can be popped into yougurt parfaits, smoothies, baked goods, or jam later in the season.  They last for at least a year in the coldest part of your freezer.  Lil likes frozen blueberries as a snack as they retain their texture better than other berries.

First, hull or pit the fruits.  If they are organic and not visibly dirty, you can leave them unwashed.  If you do wash the fruits, dry them thoroughly with tea towels.

Next, lay fruit in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Sometimes I line mine with parchment if the fruits are particularly juicy to prevent them from sticking.

After 4 - 12 hours in the freezer, pop the fruits off the cookie sheet.  Quickly transfer them to a labeled freezer bag or vacuum seal bag.  Remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn.

If you have a large quantity of berries, repeat the process a few times.  Store delicate fruits like strawberries in the refrigerator until you an freeze them.

I have successfully used this method to freeze strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pitted cherries, and peach slices.  They stay individually frozen which makes portioning for recipes or snacks a cinch.

Asparagus Relish Deviled Eggs

When one of the Wild Goose Creative board members asked me to be part of the Asparafest cooking competition, I couldn't refuse. I debated my options for a few days and entered with asparagus deviled eggs.

I decided to challenge myself not only with creating the recipe but sourcing the ingredients. In my entry, all ingredients excepting salt and pepper were produced by people I know. The eggs, garlic, shallots, and herbs came from my own garden. The asparagus was from Schacht Farm in Canal Winchester, Ohio. The cider vinegar is home produced by Charlie of Windy Hill Apple Farm. Roger's Honey sweetened the relish and I made the butter myself from Vernon Yoder's raw milk.

I didn't win the competition and it's debatable whether the eggs taste any better than if the ingredients were sourced from a big box grocery, but it was a fun exercise nonetheless.  Asparagus the movie was entertaining and enlightening.  If you have a chance, catch a viewing or buy it on DVD.

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Asparagus Deviled Eggs Makes: 12 deviled egg halves Time: 10 minutes assembly, 20 minutes + overnight for relish

6 eggs, boiled and halved

2 tablespoons hand-shaken butter

3 tablespoons asparagus relish, see recipe below

salt and pepper to taste

optional: chili powder, paprika, asparagus tips

Remove yolks from eggs and place yolks in a medium sized bowl.  Mix in butter until yolks are smooth and creamy.  Stir in relish, salt and pepper.  Fill egg white halves with the yolk mixture. Top with a sprinkle of chili powder, paprika, and/or roasted asparagus tips.

Relish (needs two days preparation)

Marinated asparagus: 1/2 bunch blanched asparagus 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 cup cider vinegar 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper 1 tablespoon fresh sage

Mix all ingredients except asparagus. Pour over asparagus and refrigerate overnight.

Relish: 1 cup minced marinated asparagus 2 tablespoons minced garlic, sauteed in a little butter 1 tablespoon each fresh rosemary and oregano, minced 1 tablespoon honey salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

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Healthier Strawberry Shortcake

When we returned from a short vacation last week, there were plenty of ripe strawberries to pick.  Lil asked sweetly, "Can we make strawberry shortcake please Mama?" She is hard to refuse.  But after four days of restaurants and treats, I wanted to make dessert a little healthier.  I adapted a recipe my mother uses for shortcake by lessening the sugar, using white whole wheat flour, and substituting skimmed milk.  The recipe might originally be from an old version of a Betty Crocker cookbook but I'm not sure.

Served with a heaping portion of strawberries, one eighth of this cake has 213 calories, according to Spark People online recipe nutrition calculator.  It has 4 grams of protein, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 8 grams of fat, 50 mg of potassium and plenty of other vitamins.  While still falling into the category of a 'sometimes food' in my opinion, this version of strawberry shortcake is reasonable to serve as a weeknight dessert.

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Strawberry Shortcake Makes: 8 servings Time: 20 minutes preparation, 35 minutes cooking

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup (local in season) strawberries per person, chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream shortening and sugar with an electric mixer.

Add egg and vanilla and cream again.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to creamed shortening and sugar alternately with milk.

Spread in a 8 inch circular cake pan and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Allow to cool slightly and top with strawberries.

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