The Charmed Kitchen

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Since I announced that I going to see how long I could last without going to the grocery store I have been getting a lot of questions about how I get ready for this. What did I buy? How do I decide what I’ll need? What about perishables like dairy foods?

First, this is not about stockpiling food. It is more about using what I already have. I canned, dried and froze a lot of foods when they were in season. I am glad that I did. It fits in with my philosophy that we have to waste less food. By preserving seasonal foods I can enjoy them year round. It also enables me to eat more local food. There aren’t too many fresh veggies in Ohio in the winter. I will be enjoying Ohio tomatoes, apples, corn, broccoli and more this winter.

Second, I have a pretty good amount of stuff in my pantry already. When I get home from the store, like most people, I just unpack the food right into my cupboard. I don’t bother to pull old stuff forward every time. What that creates is a pantry with new things getting used first and older foods lingering in the back. I am not above the occasional impulse purchase so I have some foods in there I might never have used before, but they looked like fun at the time.

I like to use the New Year as a time to take inventory. Not just the personal inventory that a new year  inspires but a more literal inventory of what I have. I think we all should do this at least once a year. Go through all the foods we purchase and store and can and see what we have already.

I started by defrosting my freezer a few weeks ago. I sorted the shelves by proteins, fruits and veggies and prepared foods. There are always a few surprises when I do this. I try to keep a ledger of what is in there and mark what is added and then removed so I know what I have. Still I find that several weeks or months into this process I get busy or distracted and start to lose track.  At least my list now is pretty up to date.

I  went through my kitchen cupboards and took everything out. I checked dates on cans and boxes and made sure to pull out anything that needed to be used soonest. Found some fun ingredients I will be sure to use in the next weeks and months.

I thought about staple foods that I didn’t want to run out of. I made a list and picked up flour, butter, eggs and more. The idea was not to go crazy and get a 10 year supply of flour but rather to be sure I had enough food for the next few months and that I had options.

I went in the basement  and did a quick count of home canned foods. Just an idea of how many jars I have. I still have to finish sorting them so I use older jars first. I always date the jars so I’ll know. It’s a good idea with home canned foods to check them from time to time to make sure all the jars are still sealed and look OK. I have a pretty good idea of what I have but I’ll do a complete inventory in the next few days.

So what DID I end up getting? Well, I got dry milk and canned milk to cover dairy needs. I am lactose intolerant so I don’t consume that much of it- but I do use it in cooking and still eat dairy sometimes. I also have almond milk. I got butter and eggs and some flour. Shopping with a friend for something for New Year’s Eve we ended up in Cleveland’s Chinatown so I must admit to buying a few sauces and condiments I might have not thought about. I also thought in terms of breakfast, lunch and dinner foods. I like oatmeal and oat bran for breakfast so I was sure to get more of both of those.

I also bought some fresh produce: tangerines, Romaine lettuce, carrots, cabbage and bok choy. Those won’t last me the whole time but I will enjoy them while they are here. Even though it is winter I still enjoy salads and will miss the lettuce most of all. I have some plans for some less conventional salads later on.

So that is where I am. First day of officially not going to the grocery store. Not much of a challenge yet, but my journey has just started. I’ll keep you all up on how it is going and will be posting recipes along the way. I’ll also be having friends over to eat so they may have something to say about how I am doing, too.

Natural disasters happen all the time and so many people are unprepared. As the snow falls outside my window I feel pretty good. I don’t HAVE to go out in search of food.

Thanks for all the feedback I’ve gotten already. Hope to hear more from you as this little adventure continues.

Ham with Brussels Sprouts

I love ham. The smoky flavor is good all by itself but also compliments a lot of other foods. Since so many people have ham for New Year’s I thought I’d share some ham recipes for all the leftovers. I’ll be posting recipes using ham all week long.  Today is a super easy recipe using ham and Brussels sprouts. I started by trimming the Brussels sprouts and cutting small ones in half. I quartered the larger ones. I heated a little butter in a skillet and added 3 cups of prepared Brussels sprouts. I cooked them until they were getting a little color on them. I think their flavor is enhanced by sauteing. I then added 1 1/2 cups of diced cooked ham and 1/2  cup of water. The water helps steam the sprouts so they are tender. I like Brussels sprouts tender. You can skip the water, if you like. The water evaporates quickly and as soon as the ham starts to brown a little the dish was pretty much done. I added a little freshly ground pepper- but it didn’t need salt. I also served it with fresh grated Romano cheese. You could serve it as is or toss in some cooked pasta with the ham.  Simple and really good. You might even get a Brussels sprout hater to give this one a try.

If you couldn’t get to a store to get more food how long could you hold out?  We assume stores will be there and the income to shop will be there but sometimes circumstances change. There can be natural disasters, power outages, loss of income. If something unexpected happened how long do you think you could go without being able to get to a store for fresh supplies. How self-reliant are we?

A couple of years ago I decided to try that for myself. A friend and I were talking about how much I had canned, frozen and dehydrated that season. The conversation became about more than just how long I could hold out but about how much food we waste and about how much we take for granted. I took the challenge and decided to see how long I could go without setting foot in a grocery store.

It was an eye opening experience. I managed for a good while. I knew I was going to do this so I stocked up on things I thought I would need. I got fresh produce and those green bags to keep it fresh for as long as possible. I read up on cold storage for things like potatoes and onions. I even sprouted seeds for fresh greens. I cleaned out my pantry- using things that had gotten stuffed in the back and might not have been used otherwise. I got creative.

I went into the challenge thinking I would go for a month. Funny thing was the first month was no big deal. Then I tried for another and got through pretty well. It was February so not that long a month. I managed in the end to go three months without going to a store. I’ll admit there were things I missed after a while. I was craving oranges and lettuce for sure. Still, it was doable.

Truth was it made me a better cook. It also made me a more thoughtful consumer.

Part of what I did to challenge myself was to have dinner parties. It wasn’t just about having something to eat, but about having something good enough to serve to guests. I planned for company about once a week. I lucked out in that it was a mild winter and by the end of March that year I was able to forage enough greens for a salad from my little city yard. There is stuff in our yards that is edible that you might not even consider eating normally. More on that in a later post.

I was happy with what I had done but didn’t plan on ever doing that again. But I have been getting inquiries from a few friends about the challenge. Several said they would like to try it, too. So I decided to go for it again. After January 2nd I will stop going to the grocery store and see how long I can hold out this time. I must admit to having some mixed feelings. I want to get something new out of the experience.

Maybe you can help me there. If there are things you want me to talk about or do or cook please let me know. If you decide to try this out I would love feedback about what you are cooking and how you are holding up. With your permission I’ll share your stories.  I also need dinner guests so if you want to come on by for a meal, let me know that, too.

Blackberry Cinnamon Muffins

I found myself with a nice package of blackberries and wanted to do something fun with some of them. I never had blackberries in muffins before, although I am sure they exist. I used a recipe I had that used different fruit and used blackberries instead. I then added a cinnamon butter topping. The results were sublime.

Blackberry Cinnamon Muffins

 1 c. milk

1 egg

¼ c. oil

2 c. flour

1/3 c. sugar

1T. Baking powder

¾ t. salt

½ t. cinnamon

1 c. blackberries, I used fresh but frozen would work, too.

Topping:

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

4 T. butter, melted

Beat together milk, egg and oil. Combine dry ingredients and add to milk mixture, stirring to just moisten flour. Fold in blackberries. Fill 12 paper lined muffin cups to 3/4 full.  Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another bowl. When muffins are removed from the oven carefully dip the top of a muffin in the melted butter and then in the cinnamon sugar. If muffins are too hot to hold wait a few minutes before dipping. Repeat with remaining muffins. Serve warm. Makes 12.

Almond Meringues

As some of you may know I made angel wing cookies last week and ended up using 32 egg yolks for them. I should have used 16 egg yolks, still a hefty number, but because of a mistake I needed 32 egg yolks and I ended up with 32 egg whites leftover. I can’t stand wasting food so I started using the egg whites up in a number of ways. I had a couple of egg white omelets. I also made an angel food cake- I’ll post that recipe later. I was doing a lot of cake baking and I subbed out some of the  whole eggs with egg whites. If I needed 4 whole eggs in a recipe I’d add 3 whole eggs and a quarter cup of egg whites for the 4th egg. Worked fine. I had 1/2 cup of egg whites left so I decided to make meringues. Meringues are a sweet treat made from egg whites, sugar and flavoring. Gluten free, too, if that is important to you. I didn’t want plain meringues so I dressed them up a little with almonds. Here is what I did.

Almond Meringues

1/2 c. egg whites- about 2-3 eggs- room temp.

1 t. cream of tartar

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. almond extract

1/2 c. ground almonds

Preheat oven to 250. Beat egg whites until foamy and add the cream of tartar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar slowly- I do it a tablespoonful at a time-with the mixer running. Beat in the flavoring then fold in the nuts. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, foil or use silicone liners. Place egg mixture in a piping bag and make little meringues  on the baking sheet. They can be close together as they don’t grow at all when baked. Place baking sheets in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn down heat to 200 and bake one additional hour. Turn off oven and leave in oven for 5-6 hours longer. Don’t open the door to peak!! I like to make these at night and just leave them in the oven overnight. Remove from oven and carefully remove from baking sheets. These are light as a feather and melt in your mouth. Makes several dozen.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

For some of us the idea of leftovers is welcoming. For me half the fun of all the work and energy that goes into a special meal is enhanced by food to eat for days afterwards. Still others have families that resist and there is a constant frantic effort to re-purpose them in some interesting ways. We had turkey for Christmas with side dishes that included sweet potatoes (steamed) and Brussels sprouts. I decided to turn the sweet potatoes into gnocchi, a type of dumpling. Since I also had a turkey carcass to use I made stock from it and strained it. I added some of the Brussels sprouts and a few carrots to the stock along with the sweet potato gnocchi and leftover turkey for a wonderful soup. There are still plenty of gnocchi left. Does that make them leftovers already? I’ll brown them in butter and top with shaved Parmesan cheese later.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

1 1/2 c. mashed cooked sweet potatoes

2 eggs

1 t. salt

1/2 t. fresh grated nutmeg

3 c. flour

Get a pot of water boiling. In mixing bowl combine the sweet potatoes with the eggs and seasonings. Add about 2 cups of the flour and stir until a soft dough forms. Continue adding flour, a little at a time, until the dough can be handled without sticking to your hands but is still soft. Take about 1/4 of the dough at a time and roll into a rope, about 15 inches long,  on a floured work surface. Cut dough into 1/2 thick pieces. Place pieces in a pot of boiling water and after a few minutes the gnocchi will float to the top. Cook them for several minutes after they have risen to the top of the pot. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. If you aren’t going to use them right away drizzle with a little oil to prevent sticking or toss with butter. You can also run a little cold water over them instead. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Leftover turkey soup with sweet potato gnocchi

Slicing the dough

Gnocchi cooking

Cranberry Trifle

I enjoy trifles and make them often. I like to go seasonal with the fruit so cranberries seemed like a logical choice. I also wanted a light dessert to have with dinner today. I started by prepping the cranberries. I wanted them to have enough liquid to spoon over the cake and soak in so I combined a 12 oz. bag of cranberries with about 3 cups of orange juice. I boiled the mixture together for several minutes. The cranberries were popping. I added about a cup of sugar and cooked the cranberries for several more minutes. I took the pan off the heat and allowed the mixture to cool down. You can add more sugar if you like.

I had made an angel food cake. If you read my post from a few days ago you might remember that I had 32 egg whites left over from another project. Angel food cake was a good way to use up about 2 cups of the egg whites. I’ll post the recipe soon- feel free to just buy an angel food cake. I understand not everyone will have 2 cups of egg whites hanging around. I cubed up the cake.

I also had 2 cups of whipping cream and some prepared vanilla pudding.  I whipped the cream and folded in 2 cups of vanilla pudding. I didn’t add extra sugar to this mixture because there is plenty of sweetness in the rest of the recipe.

To assemble the trifle I got a big glass bowl and added about a third of the cake cubes and topped them with a third of the cranberry mixture and then a third of the whipping cream. I bet you can see the pattern here. Repeat 2 more times ending with whipped cream mixture on the top. Chill at least a couple of hours before serving. Easy, fast, pretty, seasonal and tasty.  A great dessert for almost any occasion.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

When someone asks me what my favorite cookie is I can never really decide. I must admit a fondness for all variations of shortbread. This one is delicate and melt in your mouth and with the addition of mini chocolate chips a nice addition to any cookie tray.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

1 c. butter (no substitutions), softened

½ c. brown sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

2 c. flour

¼ c. cornstarch

½ c. mini chocolate chips

2-3 T. granulated sugar

With electric mixer beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla until well mixed. Stir in flour and cornstarch and then stir in chips. Form into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Pour granulated sugar on a small plate and dip bottom of drinking glass into the sugar and use this to gently flatten down the cookies. Press small indent in each cookie with a teaspoon. Bake in a preheated 300-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cookies start to brown on the bottom. Cool on sheets 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Makes about 3 ½ dozen.

Butter Cookies

This is a basic and classic recipe for butter cookies. Rich and soft they melt in your mouth and are always a hit.

Butter Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

2 ¼ c. flour

1 t. baking powder

¼ t. salt

Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy and then beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and stir into butter mixture. Chill dough at least a couple of hours. Roll dough into ¾-1 inch balls and roll in sugar, sprinkles or nuts. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375 –degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will flatten somewhat. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Variations: You can bake plain cookies and then dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate and then in chopped nuts or sprinkles.

Form into balls and place on baking sheet then press a nutmeat into the center of each. When cool you can drizzle with a small amount of melted chocolate or glaze.

Angel Wings

Why 32 egg yolks? I’ll explain. Angel Wings are what a lot of people call these fried delicate cookies. We also call them Flancate (Slovenian) or Chruschiki ( Polish). The dough is a mixture of 8 eggs yolks, white wine, a little salt and flour. Very close to pasta dough. Every year, for more than 20 years,  it has been tradition for my family to make these with the Bales family.

It started when both my parents were still alive and before Zach and Cody Bales were even born. We gather in the basement of my parents’ house and start the process. A pasta machine is used to roll out the dough. An electric skillet used to fry them and then they are cooled and dusted with powdered sugar. Because they are rolled so thin a single batch can make a couple hundred cookies. We make a double batch of the dough every year and that way have plenty of cookies to eat and share. My job is dough maker and cookie fryer. I made a double batch as usual.

A single batch uses 8 egg yolks and I make a double batch of dough so 16 eggs yolks would have been used. Where did 32 egg yolks come from? Well, best laid plans. I was making the dough yesterday and started with the double batch. Cracked the 16 eggs and separated out the yolks. Added the rest of the ingredients and the mixer did the rest. When I went to put the cork back in the newly opened bottle of white wine used for the dough I discovered a chip in the top of the wine bottle. There was no piece of glass anywhere on the counter. I don’t know if I added it to the dough or if the bottle was already chipped but there was only one thing left to do. The newly made dough – all 16 eggs yolks worth – had to be tossed. I made another batch and strained the wine in the bottle through a coffee filter to be sure there was no glass. Luckily I had enough eggs on hand.

We made the Angel Wings as usual, had a great time, and ended up with 500 cookies when finished. I will be enjoying egg white omelets for some time to come. Might also make some meringues. With every egg  white I eat I’ll think of the 32 eggs I used to make the dough and I will know I made the right decision to choose safety. Here is the recipe. Not the easiest cookies to make. Easier with a few helpers but worth the effort. Oh, if you are in the area- I have cookies to share. I’ll even make you an egg white omelet. 🙂

Angel Wings/ Flancate

8 egg yolks

2 ½ -3 c. flour, plus extra for rolling

½ c. white wine*

1 t. salt

oil or shortening for deep frying, shortening is preferred

powdered sugar for sprinkling

Combine egg yolks, wine and salt mixing until smooth. Stir in 2 cups of the flour and continue adding flour until dough is very firm, but still pliable. It is better to add more flour later than to add too much too soon. Knead or mix the dough in a mixer for 5-8 minutes. Kneading dough, or mixing in a stand mixer strengthens the dough. Divide dough into thirds, cover and allow to rest 1 hour.

On lightly floured surface roll dough out into thin strips. Cut strips diagonally into 1 ½ inch wide pieces. Cut a small slit in middle of dough and pull one end through, pulling until dough is long and somewhat twisted. Work with small amount of dough at a time to avoid drying out. Dry dough will tear and be hard to work with. You can use a pizza cutter or a pastry wheel with a zigzag edge. Cook dough, a few pieces at a time in a skillet with either oil or shortening 2 inches deep and heated to a temperature of 375 degrees. Pastry will cook in 30 seconds or so. Remove when lightly brown and drain on paper toweling. Cool and dust with powdered sugar. Makes about 200, depending on how thin you can roll them.

Note: If you have access to a pasta machine, the rolling time will be greatly reduced. Use the machine to roll the dough uniformly and quickly. There is no substitute for experience. After making a batch you will learn just how the dough should feel and how thick to roll the dough. Also, get a friend or two to help you. The are a lot of jobs to do and the time will fly with some assistance. Besides, you’ll have plenty to share with family and friends.   

•             You can use any table wine, really or even add a little vinegar (1-2 T.) to the wine

Freshly fried Angel Wings

Finished cookies- ready to be packed up