Storing Starter Cultures

With holiday travel looming closer, I'm finding "sitters" for the cat and the chickens (we're taking the dog along), and realized I should make a note of how I take care of my microscopic "pets" while I'm gone.

Starter cultures don't usually need a babysitter if you go on vacation, but here are a few tips for keeping them healthy and happy while you're gone:

Sourdough: I generally just feed my starter and put it in the fridge, tightly covered. (I try to use up all but about a cup of the starter before I store it, just to conserve space.) When I get back, I pull it out, feed it, and give it at least four hours to get back up to room temperature and "wake up" again before I use it for baking.
You can also freeze a portion of your sourdough starter; again, just bring it back up to room temperature before you feed it. It may take a couple of days to get back up to full strength again.
Yogurt: Unless you're planning to be gone for more than a week, yogurt doesn't usually need any special treatment. It will easily last a few weeks in the fridge (although it's best if you make a new batch right before you leave, so it will be as strong as possible when you return).

Buttermilk: This is pretty much the same as yogurt; it should last just fine in the fridge.

Both yogurt and buttermilk can be dried for longer storage if necessary.



My sourdough and yogurt, all ready for their nap in the fridge while we're gone!

Quesadillas

I don't know if I'd call this a recipe, exactly, but I've been making these a lot lately (they're perfect for last-minute suppers on busy days). I thought I'd share in case someone else was feeling the time crunch this holiday season!

Quesadillas
tortillas (I try to make some of these ahead of time so I can just get them out as I need them)
refried beans (I keep some of these in the fridge for "emergencies" too), mixed with 1/4 cup taco seasoning
cooked chicken, turkey, or beef
shredded cheese
lettuce, tomato, sour cream, peppers, etc.

This is really a whatever-you-like recipe; I like to put a tortilla on the griddle, spread on some beans, add some meat, and sprinkle cheese over it all and cook until the cheese is melted. Then I move them onto a plate and add the lettuce, etc. (I like to leave them open-faced, because 1. the cold toppings don't slide off so easily, 2. it's lower carb that way, and 3. then I don't have to roll out so many tortillas!)

Enjoy!

Honey Sweetened Fruit Pizza

It's tough to think of Christmas treats that aren't completely centered around sugar. We do make cookies, but definitely not as many as we used to. One of my favorite things to make for Christmas Eve is fruit pizza. Thankfully, I've found a lightly-sweetened version that lets the natural flavors of the fruit shine through. This recipe is actually a combination of two recipes, given to me by two of my sisters-in-law, one for the graham cracker crust and one for the cream cheese frosting.

Fruit Pizza
Crust:
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup milk
Mix well, roll out on a cookie sheet to 1/4 inch thickness (this is easier if you cover the dough with a piece of wax paper). Remove the wax paper and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown.

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
Mix well and spread evenly over cracker crust.

Top with fruit and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sourdough Stollen

Being of nearly 100% German descent, this recipe is a must-make for Christmas. I tweaked the original recipe to make it sourdough, but it tastes basically the same. We like to have it for breakfast (smothered in butter, of course!) as often as we can during the Christmas season.

Sourdough Stollen
3/4 cup dried fruit (candied lemon peel, raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, etc.)
1/2 cup brandy or water
Soak together at least 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
2 cups sourdough starter
Add fruit and mix well. Shape into loaves,* then let rise at least 4 hours. Brush with egg wash (1 egg, beaten, mixed with 1 tsp water) and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

*For braided stollen, cut into two loaves. Cut each loaf into three equal sections. Roll each section into a short rope about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and about 9 inches long. Lay these three side by side, pinch together at one end, and gently braid, loosely, just a few crossings. Pinch together the end pieces and shape with hands to make a nice oval shape.

Healthy (er) Peanut Blossoms

Peanut blossoms are one of my favorite Christmas cookies, but I'm always frustrated by the fact that they're full of sugar, rolled in sugar, and then topped with sugar-laden chocolate. Thankfully, I found this recipe for peanut butter cookies that are made with honey and maple syrup. I skip the rolling in sugar step, top them with homemade chocolate pieces, and voila! Healthy (er) Peanut Blossoms!

Healthy (er) Peanut Blossoms
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (I use Smuckers organic creamy)
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup*
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour (I use freshly ground whole wheat)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
Mix all well, then shape into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and flatten with a fork (or top with a piece of Super Simple Healthy Fudge). Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned.

*you can play with the sweeteners as you like - use all honey, or all syrup, or less of each.

This post is part of the Meet Up Monday Link Party.

Healthy (er) Homemade Chocolates

Now that the Christmas season is upon us, I thought it might be time to share some of my favorite holiday recipes. I actually make this one all year 'round, but I use it most often in holiday treats, so I thought I'd share it here.

Healthy (er) Homemade Chocolates
1/2 cup butter (or coconut oil - gives it a lovely coconutty flavor, like a Mounds bar)
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Melt oil and honey, stir in cocoa and salt. Mix very well. Turn off heat; add vanilla. Pour into parchment-lined loaf pan (or shaped silicone pan) and let cool in fridge or freezer. Cut into squares (or other fun shapes) and enjoy!

As I mentioned, I make this all the time, not just at Christmas. I store it in the freezer, and whenever I get a chocolate craving, I have a small piece of this fudge. It's so rich, I only need a little bit, and I don't need to feel guilty about having a treat!

My Winter Container Garden

I have officially called an end to the outdoor garden for the year (technically, I still have some beets left to harvest . . . anybody have any kid-friendly beet recipes?) but I couldn't give up completely on fresh green food. My solution was to bring in my Earthbox planter, which already had some onions growing in it from seed I'd thrown in there in the spring. To this, I added oregano, chives, rosemary, and parsley, which I transplanted from the herb garden (just dug them up and popped them in - no fancy tricks involved!) I'm not using any supplemental light (other than the normal lights we use in the evening - the planter is in our kitchen), which means the herbs are already getting pretty leggy - but that's not a problem with herbs, since the leaves and stems are what you want to harvest anyway!

I should mention that last year I tried to grow tomatoes this way, with very poor results. Even with supplemental light, they grew very leggy, and never set any fruit. Oh, well. You live and learn!

I am a little disappointed that it's made of plastic, though - but I already have it, so I figured I should use it. If this works well, I will probably pick up some nice big terra cotta pots when they go on clearance next summer.

Meanwhile, I can't wait to enjoy garden-fresh pizza sauce in the middle of a snowy winter!

Much about Mulch

This season, I tried five kinds of mulch: red plastic mulch film, a thicker silver plastic mulch, and, between the beds, I covered the paths in black landscape fabric,  black plastic, or old paper feed bags (note: the links are to products similar to what I used, not necessarily the exact product. I honestly don't remember which brand names I purchased). Here's what I found:

I was really disapointed in the red film. The tomatoes didn't do very well at all (although that might be due to other factors, since the other tomatoes (some with silver mulch and some with no mulch at all) didn't do any better. But when I pulled it up this fall, I found that the weeds hadn't been bothered by it at all! They were somewhat physically crushed under it, but creeped out the sides and the holes for the tomato stems. Apparently they got plenty of water and light to thrive. I definitely won't be using that product again.

(Here you can see the red plastic film, and all of the weeds peeking out from the edges and the tomato holes. You can also see how puffed up it is from the weeds growing beneath it.

On either side of that bed are the paths covered in paper feed bags, which are obviously the worse for wear - most of the bags on the right side are completely gone. But the ground where they were is still fairly weed-free, with sure signs of a lot of healthy worm activity.)

The silver mulch did much better. This is my second year using this same piece, and it looked like it could go for another season at least. The soil underneath was almost completely weed-free, except for where a few had snuck out through the holes for the tomato stems. If I wasn't trying to get away from using plastic, I would definitely use this again.

(Here you can see the silver mulch (on right), the black plastic mulch (in the foreground on the path), and the black landscape fabric (on the far side of the path). Obviously, the landscape fabric is ruined, while the two plastic mulches look like they could survive another season at least.)

On the paths, the black landscape fabric didn't work well at all. I think this product is meant to be covered with chips or rocks, and I left it bare, so perhaps that's why I had problems. It was torn and worn through in places in less than a month.

The black plastic mulch did much better - it's a similar weight to the silver plastic mulch, and performed very well, even under a summer's worth of walking/kneeling/wheelbarrow traffic. Again, if I wasn't trying to get away from plastic, I'd use it again.

The feed bags worked fairly well - they're paper, so by this time of year they're pretty faded and bedraggled, but they kept the weeds down very well, and underneath I found quite a lot of worm castings, which I think is encouraging. You do have to make sure to overlap them very well, since they're so narrow the grass in particular will find its way to the light if they're not overlapped enough. I also catch my boots on them a lot, since there are so many loose edges. But they're free, and they're not plastic! Unfortunately, I'm not getting feed in this type of bag anymore, so I'll have to think of something else for next year.

Next summer, I'm thinking of trying paper mulch. Has anyone out there used it? What do you think?

Garden Accounting - October/November

This is the fifth installment in this series - you can see the totals for June here, July here, August here, and September here.

Since we had our first frost on September 21st, I was expecting the garden to be pretty much done, with just the potatoes and carrots left to harvest. But the herbs kept going strong (except the basil, of course) and, surprisingly, the broccoli just kept getting better and better! The cabbage worms slowed considerably (but they were still there), so that must have helped.

So, how did I do? My total for October was $185, which added to the running total so far makes $1,120! Over a thousand dollars worth of food from my little garden! (I should note here that as of this writing, November 10th (the first snowfall, which I am officially calling the end of Garden Season 2011), I harvested another $10 worth of carrots and lettuce, bringing the Season Total to $1,130. Not too shabby!)

Here's what I harvested in October:
76 pounds of potatoes
5 pounds of onions
2 pounds of chard (not counting what I fed to the chickens, about a plant a day)
18 1/2 pounds of carrots
2 bunches of parsley
4 ounces of chives
5 pounds of broccoli
8 heads of garlic (I'm saving most of it for next year)
2 pounds of lettuce

And for November:
2 pounds of carrots
1 pound of lettuce

Pork and Broccoli Stir Fry

I had a big harvest of broccoli yesterday, so I decided it was time to make this dish! This recipe is from Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Mary Enig. (For more on properly preparing pork, see this article)

Pork and Broccoli Stir Fry
Serves 4
1 pound pork, cut into small strips
1/2 cup vinegar (any type - of course I used my homemade apple cider vinegar)
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup naturally fermented soy sauce
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 rice or red wine vinegar
2 tsp Rapadura
2 Tbsp lard
1 bunch green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used chives)
2 red peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips (I left this out entirely; we don't like peppers)
2 cups broccoli florets
1 Tbsp arrowroot, dissolved in 1 Tbsp water

Place pork in a bowl with vinegar and marinate for several hours. Drain and dry well with paper towels. Mix stock, soy sauce, chile flakes, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar and Rapadura and set aside.
Heat lard in a cast iron skillet or wok over medium high heat. Stir fry pork until moisture evaporates and the pork browns. Add green onions, red peppers and broccoli and sir fry for several minutes, until vegetables soften slightly. Add sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Add arrowroot mixture and boil vigorously until sauce thickens. Serve immediately. This goes well with brown rice.

Fall Garden Joy

As a newbie gardener, I always thought that once the first frost hit and the tomato vines died, the garden was done. So I would pull out all of the plants and call it a year. Little did I know I was missing out on nearly a third of the garden season!

This year's early frost carried with it the usual feelings of disappointment (we really didn't get that many tomatoes) and, I'll admit, relief (no more canning!) But, over a month later, I'm beginning to really enjoy my late fall garden. The broccoli is better than ever (MUCH fewer cabbage worms), the self-seeded fall spinach is really just getting going, and the onions, garlic, chard, and carrots are still going strong. Most of the herbs (NOT the basil) are still doing great (I'm harvesting parsley and chives almost daily, and oregano for our weekly pizza night. I need to repot some of them so I can bring them in for the winter, before they really winterkill.)

All in all, I'm really not missing that many vegetables - mostly just the tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers (the latter two I was ready to be done with anyway). I do wish the pumpkins had a little more time to ripen, but we have enough puree in the freezer to last us a good long while (as long as we don't keep having pumpkin pie bars for breakfast at least once every week like we've been doing!) The poor watermelons didn't have time to ripen at all, so we didn't get any - in our climate, they're pretty hit-or-miss - but I had to try, after we had such success last year!

Still, I am so thrilled that even now, on the cusp of November, I can go out in the garden and harvest the main ingredients for our meals!

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday.

Pumpkin Bars

These make a big batch - you bake them in a jelly roll pan. Perfect for big fall gatherings!

Pumpkin Bars
2 cups flour (I use sprouted whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups sugar (I use rapadura)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves
4 eggs
2 cups pureed pumpkin
1 cup oil (I generally use extra virgin olive oil, and don't taste a difference)
Mix all and pour into a jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick tests clean.

Top with a half recipe of cream cheese frosting when cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
Beat all together until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar (I've read you can put rapadura in a blender to make it a finer consistency - but I've never actually tried it yet). If desired, add up to 2 1/2 cups more powdered sugar until you get to the desired consistency.

Pumpkin Bread

Another yummy fall treat (see why I grow so many pumpkins?)

Pumpkin Bread
1/3 cup soft butter or coconut oil
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup rapadura
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
2 cups flour (I use sprouted whole wheat)

Mix all together and bake in a loaf pan for one hour at 350 degrees.

(to make this recipe as muffins or cake, use appropriate pan and bake for 20 minutes)