Archive for October, 2008

Bulgar in chili

Monday, October 20th, 2008

I made a great chili today –

  • 1 lb grassfed ground beef
  • 1 lb local ground pork
  • 4 cups beans (soaked overnight in water)
  • 4 small cans tomato sauce (8 ounce cans)
  • 1 cup uncooked bulgar
  • Chopped garlic, onions
  • Cumin, chili powder, cayenne, plus 1 tablespoon of Bob’s Hotter Than Hades Habanero Sauce

I browned the pork and ground beef with the garlic and onions, added the spices and poured it into a large crockpot.  Then I added the bulgar, beans, tomato sauce, and filled it the rest of the way with water.  I turned it on high for the first hour, then down to low. . . 8 hours later, hotter than hades chili with bulgar.

Bulgar is turning out to be a great meat extender.  I could probably have made this with one pound (or less) of meat and doubled the uncooked bulgar.

Preview of Tomorrow’s Attraction — cream of bulgar with Bob’s Hotter than Hades Habanero Sauce.  I can’t believe I haven’t tried this yet!  Plus hmmm. . . a dash of honey and of course yogurt. That’s a breakfast that will break a sweat and stick to your ribs.

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Peanut Butter and Cream of Bulgar

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

This morning’s breakfast — Cream of Bulgar, with a tablespoon of honey, dash of salt, and peanut butter made by an Oklahoma farmer.  I added about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to 1-1/2 cups of prepared cream of bulgar, which I make with 1/2 cup dry cream of bulgar and 1-1/2 cups water.  This amount is my typical COB breakfast.

I also added a sprinkling of pecans on top.

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This week’s Cream of Bulgar Breakfast

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

This is a busy week, and with the riots going on in the financial marketplace, I am in full-blown frugalista mode.  So this week, every morning I am having simple Cream of Bulgar for breakfast.  It is easy and quick to prepare.  It is filling, and it is comfort food.  I add a dash of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, a sprinkling of raisins and dried cranberries and chopped pecans, a small dollop of butter, and two or three tablespoons of yogurt after it is cooked.  Voila, simple but very tasty, healthy, and frugal breakfast. 

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Bulgar and Squash Casserole

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

This recipe is ONE MORE REASON why you should ALWAYS make extra bulgar!

  • 4 cups cooked, mashed winter squash,
  • 2 cups left-over bulgar pilaf (for this recipe, I used some left-over bulgar pilaf with cooked greens,
  • 2 cups very dry bread crumbs
  • 4 cups thin gravy (whatever kind you have handy or can make, it will thicken while cooking)

Put half of the cooked squash in the bottom of the casserole pan, layer half of the cooked bulgar, bread crumbs, and gravy.  Then put on the rest of the cooked squash, and top with the rest of the bulgar and bread crumbs, and last of all, pour the rest of the gravy on top.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes (if the gravy was hot when you poured it on), 45 minutes (if you are using cold, leftover gravy).  With cold left-over gravy, you should probably add a cup of broth or water to thin it.

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Stalking the Fall Winter Squash and other Autumnal Food Adventures

Friday, October 3rd, 2008
There isn’t much bulgarish in this post, but I sent this email to the coop’s membership this morning, and it has a lot of good, frugal, autumn food info.  I am working on a bulgar-winter squash casserole, so we will see how that comes out later today.
 
The weather right now is just gorgeous, although each night it seems just a little bit cooler as I take the dogs out for their final night walk through the garden.  Winter is coming –  I hope everybody is stocking up for the winter and singing the “Get ready for winter” song.
 
So let’s talk about some Autumnal Food Adventures at the Oklahoma Food Coop.  When we shift our diet towards local foods, it is important for us to “eat what is available”.  This “recipe email” features foods that are generally available, at the coop or at farmers’ markets, during the fall — winter squash, pumpkins, greens, and ground meats.
 
Basic preparation method for winter squash . . .  Squash Stuffing Side-Dish . . . Making pumpkin pie from REAL pumpkins . . . Sandra Storey’s Pumpkin Recipes (cookies/bars and bread) . . . Festive Holiday Stuffed Squash (no meat recipe) . . . Preserving squash and pumpkin. . .
 
Cream of Greens Soup . . .
 
What to do with 20 pounds of ground beef (Ground Beef Mix, Taco Meat, Spaghetti Sauce with Meat, Lazy Lasagna, Hash Brown Casserole, Freezer Stash Meatballs, Bacon, Swiss and Mushroom Meatloaf) . . .
 
What to do with 15 pounds of pork . . . (Crockpot Green Chile Pork, Crockpot BBQ Pork, Crockpot Roast Pork, Sweett and Sour Pork Chops, BBQ Pork Chops, Peppery Breaded Pork Chops).
 
SQUASH AND PUMPKINS
 
Winter squash is one of my favorite foods.  The basic preparation is simple:
 
+ Cut the squash in half,
+ Scoop out the seeds and any “stringy-stuff” in the seed cavity.
 
Then it can be baked, stewed, microwaved, and eaten just as it is.  Sometimes folks sprinkle it with cinnamon and brown sugar, or drizzle it with honey or maple syrup.  Or after baking, they scoop it out of the rind, puree it, and mix it with some butter, honey or brown sugar, and a taste of cinnamon.
 
Note that winter squash and pumpkins are interchangeable.  You can make pies with winter squash, and you can make squash casseroles with pumpkin. 
 
Here is my favorite recipe for Squash Casserole
 
Squash Stuffing Side-Dish (this is also known as Squash Casserole)
 
4 cups cooked winter squash, mashed
About 2 cups very dry bread crumbs (or one box of store-bought stuffing)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
3 cups thin gravy
Saute onions, carrots, and celery until the onions are clear.  Combine with the mashed squash.  Put 1/2 of the squash in the bottom of the casserole pan.  Place 1/2 of the bread crumbs on top of the squash, and cover that with half the gravy.  Put the rest of the squash over the bread crumbs, and top that layer with the rest of the bread crumbs.  Pour the remaining gravy over the top, so it is entirely covered.  You can substitute an equivalent amount of canned cream soup mixed with water or milk for the gravy.  You can use any kind of gravy, most often I use a brown gravy made from stock I make from soup bones from grass-fed beef that I buy from coop farmers.  I made this casserole yesterday for a member of my choir who is ill.  Her husband doesn’t eat meat, so I made a gravy from some broth from a vegetable soup I made for them.
 
MAKING PUMPKIN PIE FROM REAL PUMPKINS
Another fall food activity I highly recommend is making pumpkin pie from real pumpkins.  I have done this using pie pumpkins, but I have also turned jack-o-lantern pumpkins into pumpkin pies. 
 
This is the link I send to members of the coop to explain this easy process:
 
 
 
The only difference is that instead of opening a can, you bake a pumpkin:
 
1. Wash the pumpkin and cut it in half with a serrated knife, scooping out the seeds and any stringy flesh. (Save the seeds!  Roast them for a tasty snack!)
 
2.  I bake my pumpkin until it is soft in a 350 degree oven, wrapped in aluminum foil (this is just like baking a winter squash).  It takes about an hour.   The site linked above however has instructions for microwaving the pumpkin.
 
3.  When done, take the pulp off the rind and puree it in a blender.  Voila, cooked pumpkin.  You need about 3 cups cooked pumpkin to make a pie, which is about what you get from a pie pumpkin.
 
Cooked pumpkin freezes well.  I have also made “pumpkin pies” using other cooked winter squash.  I like the cushaw squash I get from McLemore Farms through the coop.  They are giant.  So in the fall, I always buy a lot of winter squash and pie pumpkins, to supplement what I grow in my gardens, and as it gets cold, I bake them and freeze them for eating later. 
 

SANDRA STOREY’S PUMPKIN RECIPES

To prepare pumpkin or cushaw, cut it in half (this may require a big butcher knife, a meat cleaver, or an axe!). Scrape out the seeds and pulp and save seeds for toasted pumpkin seeds. I don’t know if you can eat cushaw seeds.

Bake pumpkin or cushaw in oven, cut side down on pan. You can oil pan or put a little water in the bottom or both. Bake at 450 or whatever temperature is convenient. It may take about an hour for the pumpkin to get soft. I noticed with the cushaw that the tops really need to be cooked longer. When I did the pumpkin, I found out that if you cook until the skin is really brown that it just peels right off. With the cushaw, I didn’t try that trick, I just scooped the cooked squash out of the skin. I used my hands but it would probably be more sanitary to use a big spoon. I pureed the pumpkin in a food processor but you could probably mash by hand if it were cooked soft enough, or use a blender or a food mill.

First, I made pumpkin cookies using this recipe adapted from Recipes for a Small Planet:

Pumpkin Bars or Cookies.

1 1/2 C + 1 TBSP whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg,

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/3 C oil or 1/2 C butter

2/3 C honey (you could probably replace with sugar - also you could probably use

a little less if you wanted less sweet cookies)

1 egg

1 C cooked pureed pumpkin or squash

You could also add any or all of the following:

1 C chopped walnuts

1/2 C chopped raisins

1/2 C chopped dates

Stir together dry ingredients & spices. In another bowl cream oil or butter with honey, beat in egg until smooth, stir in pumpkin or squash; add dry ingredients & blend then stir in optional nuts and fruit. If you use oil and honey you will notice that this is more like a quick bread batter than a cookie dough. Using sugar and butter will probably produce a more traditional cookie dough.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto oiled cookie sheet, bake 325F. The original recipe said cook for 15 minutes until golden but I found it took a lot longer.

Pumpkin or Squash Bread.

Mix together:

1/3 C oil

2/3 C honey or molasses (I used 1/2 and 1/2 but next time I would just use honey)

2/3 C cooked, pureed pumpkin or squash

2 eggs beaten

1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, ginger, & salt

1/4 C milk

Separately mix:

2 C whole wheat flour + maybe a bit more

1 TBSP baking powder

Add dry mixture to wet mixture and combine until just mixed (do not overbeat). Bake in oiled loaf pan at 325F for about an hour or make muffins and bake at 375F for about 25 minutes. In either case, bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

For toasted pumpkin seeds, I did them in the oven but then I saw a stove top recipe that seems faster. The stovetop recipe is as follows:

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Rinse pulp off of pumpkin seeds by immersing seeds in a bowl of water and cleaning off the pulp. In a heavy skillet (cast iron if you have it), cook 1 cup pumpkin seeds over moderate heat, stirring constantly until puffed and golden (about 5 minutes). Seeds should be very crunchy. Put in a bowl and mix in 1 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil, salt (to taste) and any other spices you wish (for example, cayenne pepper or curry powder).

Alternatively, you can put the pumpkin seeds, oil, salt and spices in the oven and cook at 350 until browned and crunchy. This is the way I did it, but it took a lot longer than the recipe above.

A FESTIVE HOLIDAY STUFFED SQUASH

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetabledishes/r/thanksgvngsqsh.htm

Acorn Squash with Vegetarian Holiday Stuffing (lacto/vegan), From Amy Parker,Your Guide to Vegetarian Cuisine.

You can enjoy holiday stuffing without the meat. Fill acorn squash with a vegetarian/vegan version of traditional bread stuffing with sage, parsley and vegetarian “sausage.”

Prep Time : 45min — Cook Time : 1hr

INGREDIENTS:

8 small acorn squashes (about 1 pound each)

1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick) plus 1 small pat for greasing baking tray

1 pound loose vegetarian sausage substitute

2 medium onions, minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage

3/4 cup diced celery, including leaves

10 cups cubed white bread

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste

PREPARATION:

Wash squash. Cut off stem end to make a lid and scoop out seeds. Set aside while you prepare stuffing.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat butter or margarine until it sizzles over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Scoop 1/2- to 1-teaspoon-sized dollops of vegetarian sausage substitute into sizzling fat and fry until golden brown. Remove sausage from pan with a slotted spoon or spatula and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add onions, sage and celery. Saute until onions are translucent. Add bread cubes, celery seed and parsley to skillet and mix well. Cover and continue heating for 5 minutes or until bread appears moist.

Mix prepared sausage into bread and then pack bottom halves of the squashes with stuffing. Set squashes on lightly greased baking tray and bake, uncovered for 30 minutes. Top each squash with its lid and then bake 20 to 30 more minutes until fork tender. Serve immediately. Serves: 8

PRESERVING SQUASH AND PUMPKIN

From Clemson University Extension . . . How to preserve winter squash and pumpkin. . .Pressure Canning procedure: Wash, remove seeds, cut into 1 inch- wide slices, and peel. Cut flesh into 1 inch cubes. Boil two minutes in water. CAUTION: Do not mash or puree. Fill jars with cubes and cooking liquid, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust lids. Process in a dial-gauge pressure canner at 11 pounds pressure OR in a weighted-gauge pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (15 pounds if above 1000 ft. altitude): Pints: 55 minutes Quarts: 90 minutes. For making pies, drain jars and strain or sieve cubes.

To freeze it, first you cook it (boil, bake, or steam) until it is soft. Then mash it, pack into containers leaving 1 inch headspace, and freeze.

To dry the seeds, carefully wash them to get rid of any pieces of squash clinging to them, then dry them in a dehydrator for 1 or 2 hours or in a warm oven for 2-3 hours (150 degree oven). To roast them, put dried seeds in a pan, coat with oil, salt, and/or other seasonings, then roast about 10 minutes at 250 degrees.

I found this recipe for dehydrating pumpkin at the National Center for Home Food Preservation website: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/tips/fall/pumpkins.html 

Wash, peel, and remove fibers and seeds from pumpkin flesh. Cut into small, thin strips. Blanch strips over steam for 5-6 minutes and cool rapidly. Dry the strips in a dehydrator until brittle. Pumpkin makes excellent dried vegetable leather. Puree cooked pumpkin and strain. Add honey and spices, and then dry on a home food dehydrator tray.

Cream of Greens Soup

1 lb ham slice, with bone

8 cups water

1 large bunch of greens, washed and finely chopped

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped green onions

1/4 and 1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

5 cups milk

Place the water and ham in a pot, cover, and simmer for 3 hours. Remove ham, add the chopped greens, simmer for 1 hour. (If you are making this with turnip greens, add them at the beginning of the cooking. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a skillet, and the chopped onion, celery, and green onions, cook until tender. Put the cooked onion mixture in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth, mix with the greens. Melt 1/3 cup butter in a cooking pot, gradually add the flour and stir to make a roux. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Then add the greens and onion mixture, a dash of salt and hot sauce. Add the ham cut into chunks. Cook until thoroughly heated, do not boil. Makes about 10 cups.

WHAT TO DO WITH 20 POUNDS OF GROUND MEAT?

Ground meats are among the most plentiful products available through the Oklahoma Food Coop.  This link as recipes for making the following items, all in one cooking session, from 20 pounds of ground meat.  One of the secrets of cooking meals from basic ingredients is, from time to time, to “cook ahead”, and make larger quantities of foods to freeze for convenient eating later.

http://hardys.freeservers.com/ground.htm

Ground Beef Mix — Taco Meat — Spaghetti Sauce with Meat — Lazy Lasagna — Hash Brown Casserole — Freezer Stash Meatballs — Bacon, Swiss and Mushroom Meatloaf —

Do intelligent substitutions to increase the “coop content” of the recipes. . . instead of cream of mushroom soup, make a mushroom soup from your home-made stock. . . use yogurt cheese instead of sour cream. . . cream instead of evaporated milk. . . etc.  Note that any of our ground meats can be used in these recipes — beef, buffalo, pork, lamb.

WHAT TO DO WITH 15 POUNDS OF PORK

http://hardys.freeservers.com/pork.htm

Green Chile Pork (Crockpot) — BBQ Pork (Crockpot) — Roast Pork (Crockpot)  — Sweet and Sour Pork Chops — BBQ Pork Chops — Peppery Breaded Pork Chops —

Y’all bon apetit, you hear!

Bob Waldrop

Oklahoma Food Coop

www.oklahomafood.coop

 

 

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