A new year and a new look

As I have said several times this year already, there is a lot of ‘moving forward’ going on for me in 2012. And, this blog is no exception with a new look!

It was actually quite by accident. I was updating programs (they get updated regularly mostly for security purposes) and when I got to the current theme I was using, I hit the update button, and voila, my blog was so very screwed up! I had no choice but to change the theme, create new headers, change some formatting, yada, yada. I hope you like it.

Since my last writing, I have finished another gourd. I think it my best ever!

We had our first hard freeze of the season the other night. It was wicked cold! I wore long johns under my sweat pants, and made homemade hot cocoa in an effort to keep us warm and cozy. Even Sam Dog got his ears covered!

 And, I had to cover the garden vegetables, too! Now, most fall gardens are done producing in these parts near the end of November, but mine was super slow to start. I don’t know if I needed more fertilizer or what, but, when most people were pulling out their garden remnants, I was watching my cabbages finally forming heads.

With my first head of cabbage, I made cabbage rolls.

 

 

After all this time and even after the hard freeze the other night, my cauliflower and red cabbages are finally forming some nice heads.

 

By the time my fall garden is done, it will be time for spring planting, once again!

So, what have you been up to, lately?

 

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The Wheeling Gourmet

Nic Steenhout, aka, The Wheeling Gourmet

I’ve recently discovered a new website that was created by a great chef and a cool guy, my friend, Nicolas Steenhout. The site, The Wheeling Gourmet, is, of course, a cooking site. Since I love to cook, I find perusing cooking sites a fun pastime. Some of the sites I stumble upon are okay and some, not so much. But, this site is different, somehow. Every time I visit Nic’s site, I get this feeling that there is something more, a true passion for cooking and sharing, and I  absolutely love that!  

Honestly, I do not know a lot about Nic. I know he is a Canadian living in New Zealand by way of Chicago and Savannah. I know he was once a professional chef and he co-authored a cookbook on wild meat and game.  I know he is an advocate for people with disabilities. His other site, Accessibility NZ, deals with web accessibility issues. I know he plays wheelchair rugby.

The first recipe I made was the Chicken Chorizo Clay Pot. Oh, I didn’t have a clay pot, so I used a Dutch oven.  I didn’t have mirin sauce (mirin is a sweet Japanese wine) so I used sherry. I didn’t even have any chorizo (Spanish sausage) and had to use kielbasa. (If I lived even remotely close to a decent grocery store, I would have made a quick trip to purchase those ingredients. Using the right ingredients is important!) But, even with all those changes, I loved this recipe! The flavors were incredible. I have made this again, since that first time, with the correct ingredients (well, except for the clay pot) with fantastic results.

The second recipe I tried was the Pork Medallions with Orange and Ginger Reduction. Oh, I fudged this  one up, too!   I thought I had defrosted a small pork tenderloin to use, but instead had a small package of ribs. Sheesh! The orange and ginger reduction and balsamic vinegar reduction were fabulous, though, and it still turned out to be a great dinner!

Several other recipes that are high on my list to try soon are the Braised Beef Shin with Orange and Black Olive – Osso Bucco Style, the Mousse au Chocolat, Chicken Brochettes  Marinated in Olive Oil and Lemon Juice, and Spaghetti Carbonara. Nic provides U.S. Standard measurements alongside the metric equivalents to make it easy for us Americans, too!  And, he always remembers to list the U.S.  term for ingredients like red capcium (red pepper) and kumara (a Maori word for sweet potato).

Setting up for a food photograph.

What else is cool about Nic is that he has a passion for photography and takes all of his own food photos! Typically food photographers add a lot of crap that make dishes inedible just to make a picture look appealing, but Nic cooks his food, plates it up, snaps his photos and then he eats it! Nic’s food photos are fantastic! Both photos in this article (yes, even the self photo above) were taken by Nic.

The site, The Wheeling Gourmet, is a work in progress. So, please visit it often! And, don’t be afraid to ask Nic questions, he loves to answer! And, if you are inclined to take a photo of your cooking masterpiece, he would like to see it!

Oh, and a clay pot, like the one featured on his site, is now on my wish list, in case you were wondering!

Happy eating!

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Beef Burgundy

It has been raining here – a cold, steady rain – for two days. It is the kind of rain that seeps into your bones and keeps you from being able to warm up, no matter how many socks and sweaters you put on.

On Sunday, I made Beef Burgundy, a nice warm comfort meal. Here’s my recipe:

Beef Burgundy

Ingredients:

3 slices bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
3 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks
6 carrots, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 large onions, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt, pepper
2 cups dry red wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 pkg. fresh mushrooms, cut into quarters
½ teaspoon thyme (or fresh, if you have it)
½ cup fresh chopped parsley.

Directions:

In a 5 quart Dutch oven, cook bacon until browned. Transfer bacon to bowl. 

Add beef to bacon drippings and cook over medium-high heat until browned on all sides (about 5 minutes). Transfer to bowl with the bacon. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Add carrots, garlic, onion to remaining drippings and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes (vegetables should be browned and tender). 

Add flour, tomato paste, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add wine and chicken stock and heat to boiling, stirring to loosen the browned bits from the bottom of your pot. 

Add the meat and their juices. Add mushrooms and thyme and heat to boiling. Cover and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours. 

Sprinkle with parsley to serve.

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