Potato Kale and Feta Mini-Knishes

I failed to get a shot of these, but they were delicious. The filling can be made for a side dish, as well. As a matter of fact, I might not go through the trouble of making these again unless I have guests. They were perfect for my theme of no utensils, only napkins.

• 2 cups Flour
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 4 tbsp Water

To make dough combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Make well and add 1 Tbsp of oil, eggs and 2 Tablespoons water. Gradually mix wet ingredients to flour. Knead dough until ball is formed. Knead dough, place in oiled bowl. Let stand covered for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Filling: 2 tbsp olive oil 2 cups plain mashed potatoes with skin on 2 cups finely chopped onions Chopped kale 8 oz of feta cheese Salt and pepper to taste Put oil in skillet and cook onions until tender, add kale, salt and pepper, and cook down for about fifteen minutes. Add potatoes and feta and mix well. Divide dough into thirds on a floured surface. Roll dough out in a rectangle and fill with mixture. Seal seams with a pinch of water. Slice to form wheels and try to gather the dough around the bottom, place on baking tray. They will look like little cups. Mix up an egg yolk with a little water and rub the dough sides with the egg wash. Bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Of course, you can make any shapes you want, and really, any filling, too!

Jelly Stands for J!

I'd like to introduce you to Lemon-Lime Jelly. Well, maybe Lemon-Lime Glaze. Not sure yet. Some jellies take two weeks to firm up, so we'll see, but I'm not optimistic. This was an experiment, which most reliable canning books tell you not to undertake, but I don't listen to anything. Not trying to be rogue here, I'm just lazy. I think its best to be wary of canning, but I also let a lot of stuff fly. (N.B.: I have been doing this haphazardly for fifteen years, so...) I was checking out some recipes on NPR and they were really loosey-goosey which brought out the crank in me, but whatever. I would have commented on it all, but you had to log in.

I thought that maybe since lemons and limes are so high in pectin--some store bought pectin is derived from citrus peel, mostly lime--I figured let's make a go of it, relying on a recipe for crab apple jelly, which are also high in pectin. I added some lime peel to the mix hoping for its pectin goodness. The jelling point came really quickly, which surprised me because last time it took forever. Apparently, this happens. Thank god for my new candy thermometer. I love it!

Whatever it is, it tastes delicious, just not sure of its jelly status.

Short Ribs Braised in Wine with Mashed Potatoes

Let me start off by saying that photographing food is extremely hard, and this photo illustrates that sentiment. Especially meat with some dark gravy. It just looks awful. Meat must be the hardest thing to photograph. Have you ever seen those new-ish meat print ads that say something like, "Welcome to the Land of Beef," and it's a landscape, a diorama, if you will, made of a large cut of beef with gravy as the sea around it. It's disgusting. That said, this meal was very far from disgusting. The first braised meat of the season the day before autumn was officially here. It's a welcome taste.

Braised meat is incredibly easy as long as you have the time to let it do its business in the oven. All I did was brown the meat in a sturdy dutch oven, then removed it to make room for sauteing red onions, then carrots. Then two cups of red wine to deglaze. Slowly added two cups chicken stock. Returned the ribs to the mix, arranging them just so, covered the whole shebang and stuck it in a 325 degree oven for 2-3 hours. Voila, you are done. I mashed potatoes with skin on, some butter and yogurt, salt and pepper.

Welcome, to the land of beef!

Red Peppers

At our local super farm market (Adam's Fairacre Farms) they have a section with produce marked with low prices for quick sale. Sometimes it's packed with great deals, like bags of red peppers for 99 cents. (Digression: my keyboard doesn't seem to have a cent symbol. Is that how the way of the world is going?) So, along with the bag of apples and pears, and ripe bananas, broccoli rabe, and zucchini (which I don't even care for), I took home two bags full of those peppers. Only problem is, I've got to prepare everything. I chopped all the zucchini and froze it for bread at a later date. The broccoli rabe was also frozen for throwing into a nice soup one day. The peppers I roasted on the grill and prepared two ways: one, on the right, is just with garlic and olive oil to keep in the fridge for bread and cheese, or sandwiches, the other, on the left, is a romesco sauce I, no exaggeration, threw together. As I have mentioned, I'm not too keen on recipes and feel my way through things. I liked it just fine. Froze half and kept the rest in the fridge for a quick meal. I was tired and on the tail end of a cold, so here is what I remember:

Romesco Sauce (Sorta)

Filled the food processor half way with roasted red peppers.

Sauteed up two ripe tomatoes with a handful of garlice in some olive oil, then in the processor with the peppers.

A handful of walnuts (almonds or hazelnuts are proper, but all I had was walnuts).

Some nice, cheesy bread crumbs I had in the fridge (made from a batch of croutons gone awry).

Whizzed it up, while pouring a goodly amount (3/4 cup?) of olive oil in;

then a 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar (maybe less?) to finish it off. Salt and pepper, too.

Now I gotta slog through the banana bread I have on deck, and apple and pear sauce...I can't imagine what life must have been like, back in the day, when folks depended on their harvest for their livelihood. A man I was buying used canning jars from said that his mother often said that the worst thing to see in the kitchen was a large basket of vegetables that had to be preserved right away. My word.

Chicken Sitting has its Benefits

We've been chicken sitting for the neighbors which has paid off in nice little Rhode Island Red eggs. I've got to get chickens...