Kara's foods

I thought you might want to know what I like and don't like. I know you're all very intrigued:

Nos
beans/lentils
beets
eggplant
mayo
mixed stew
cooked carrots
sweet potatoes
mushy vegetables
onions raw
uncooked garlic
peas
oatmeal
hard yokes
runny whites
maple syrup
cabbage
fish/seafood
milk
cottage cheese
butterscotch
cheesecake
custard
hummus
avocado
cooked spinach
bananas
kiwi
mango
frosting
figs
apricots/peaches
capers
chili with beans
coconut
coleslaw
potato salad
melons
olives
okra

Yes
green beans
chicken
rice
meatloaf
asperagus
tomatoes
potatoes
meat
american yogurt
sour cream
bread
ham
bacon
articoke hearts
bean sprouts
red and green pepers
chipotle
salsa
ice cream
pudding
mustard
cheese
tofu
calamari
babjanoush
spinach dip
whipped cream
mushrooms
BBQ
broccoli
cucumbers
honey
horesradish
pasta
popcorn
quiche
zuchinni


This is because I wasn't breast fed long enough. :) -kara

Super-Easy-Vegan-Veggie-Coconut-Curry

Made this one in a pinch the other night, and it was a DELIGHT. (No pictures, lo siento.)

1) chop an onion, 3-4 cloves of garlic, and about a table spoon of ginger. Place all three in a food processor and mince (if no food processor available, just chop into little bits).

2) Start a pot for your basmati rice and add once water is boiling. (the rice will take about 20 minutes depending on how soft you want it - be sure to check the pot and stir rice occasionally so it doesnt dry out and stick to the pot. Add water if necessary)

3) Add a tsp of olive oil to a sauce pan, heat, and then toss in your minced onion/garlic/ginger. Sizzle until aromatic (a few minutes).

Now the fun part. In the same pan add (according to taste):

1.5 tsp turmeric
1.5 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin powder (or freshly ground cumin seed if you're a stud)
1 tsp coriander powder (" ")
1 tsp of garam masala
a few cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
A pinch of rock salt and ground pepper.

Stir into onion/garlic/ginger mixture.

4) Immediately add your vegetables to the pan. If you have less time, grab a bag of frozen asian stir-fry veggies. If you have more time, pick out some fresh favorites (potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, okra, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms would all be good) and chop them prior to cooking.

Stir vegetables into seasoning and minced mixture until evenly dispersed.

5) once the veggies have become soft, add 1 can of coconut milk (be sure to shake the can to achieve proper thickness. Stir.

let ingredients stew for a short while until you think it looks delicious enough to eat.

6) spoon rice onto a plate and ladle the curry over the rice.

voila!

Preserves!!

Sue and George came to visit this week and while they were here I heard that the peaches were ripe at Shelburne Orchard so we went to pick a few. We may have overdone it a little because we ended up with 12 pounds of peaches! Some got eaten right away, some got sent on to mom and dad, but I was still left with almost five pounds of peaches. Which is a whole lot when you can't eat fresh fruit. I asked a friend for help and got this recipe for peach preserves.

4 pounds of peaches: peeled, pitted, sliced

1 package powdered pectin

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

7 cups sugar

Combine all in a saucepot. Bring to a boil, stirring gently until the sugar is dissolved. Boil 1 minute. Ladle into jars (can or freeze).

Seemed easy enough so I brought all the fixings out to the farm to get help from Laura (and because it just seemed right to make preserves at a farm).

Laura suggested par-boiling the peaches to get the skins off quickly and easily so I checked the Joy of Cooking for instructions. I love that book, it gives the most basic instructions in detail.... which I need.

In the end it was really easy. I made 5 pints of preserves and had a bit left over in the pot which we ate while still warm over ice cream.

I won't know until it all cools if it successfully gelled but it's tasty already anyhow.

You can expect to get some the next time I see you :)

I also got a recipe for peach butter that I'd like to try but have now run out of peaches. I may have to pick more.

Kitchen Sink Tempeh

A favorite staple here at the farmhouse is what I like to call "Kitchen Sink Tempeh" because it's seasoned with everything but the kitchen sink. We like to get the Rhapsody Tempeh but we've also used the LightLife organic three grain tempeh. First cut it into strips less than a 1/4 inch thick. If you've never used tempeh before don't be put off if there's some black on the uncooked tempeh; it doesn't mean it's gone bad.

Put olive oil in a frying pan on low heat and place the strips of tempeh in the pan in a single layer. Flip them immediately and drizzle a little sesame oil over top. Then add the rest of the ingredients as the tempeh cooks. No, I don't have measurements of how much to add, just sprinkle and dash to taste. We use:

Apple Cider Vinegar

Braggs Liquid Aminos

Lime Juice

Ground Mustard

Garlic powder

Honey

Salt and Pepper

Cook the tempeh flipping occasionally until brown and crispy looking on the outside. Here's Julie with a perfectly browned piece.

How to use it? We put it with rice or quinoa and cooked veggies. Or even better as a burrito with beans, onions, sour cream, salsa, and cheese. Now that the weather is nice enough we've been doing more and more out on the second floor back deck including eating dinner and playing Rock Band!

Baked Kale Chips

My friend Sasha brought these to Stitch and Bitch a couple of weeks ago and I pretty much stood at the counter and ate all of them. Not very good potluck behavior.

Baked Kale Chips

Prep Time:
10 Min

Cook Time:
10 Min

Ready In:
20

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 58 | Total Fat: 2.8g | Cholesterol: 0mg

Mom and Dad's Visit

Tad and I can't fit in our pants following Mom and Dad's Visit. I had to bust out my fat pants. Here was some of our food concoctions:

Creamy Horseradish and Dill Dip

Serves 6Hands-On Time: 05mTotal Time: 05m

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup prepared horseradish
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• dippers (such as celery sticks, cucumber rounds, and potato chips)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, horseradish, milk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until fluffy. Stir in the dill. Serve with the dippers.

Rosemary Pecans

Serves 8Hands-On Time: 10mTotal Time: 20m

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sugar, cayenne pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add the pecans and toss to coat.
2. Transfer the pecans to a rimmed baking sheet and arrange in a single layer. Bake, stirring occasionally, until toasted, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Add the rosemary and toss to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rubby mcrubbersons

I've never done a dry rub on meats before so I thought I'd give this one a try on steaks. Tad says "It was real tastey."

All-Purpose Rub

4-6 Hands-On Time: 0hr 05m Total Time: 0hr 05m

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• kosher salt
• Olive oil

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cinnamon, oregano, and 2 teaspoons kosher salt.
2. Add enough olive oil to make a paste and rub over raw meat, under and over chicken skin, or on seafood.

Easy nuf.