Gordon's Living Site

Apple and Bread Pudding

Yet again, I've used a recipe from Bon Apetit. Naturally, I've made a few substitutions since I don't always have what they call for. This recipe called for maple syrup-I used sorghum syrup. It called for dark brown sugar and I used light brown sugar. It called for apple brandy so I used Kahlua. It calls for whole milk and I used 2%. This stuff is downright excellent! Being so heavy on the apples and bread, it is a great source of vitamins and fiber.

CUSTARD INGREDIENTS

• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 c sorghum syrup
• 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c 2% milk
• 1 c heavy whipping cream (sort of fills in the fat gap from using 2% milk)
• 2 T Kahlua
• 1 lb artisan bread, cut into 1 inch or smaller cubes

APPLE INGREDIENTS

• 5 Granny Smith apples
• 3 T unsalted butter
• 1/4 c sorghum syrup
• 1/4 c packed light brown sugar

CUSTARD DIRECTIONS

Whisk all ingredients except bread until well mixed. Add bread cubes and submerge into custard. Soak around 30 minutes until most of liquid is absorbed. Mix occasionally.

APPLE DIRECTIONS

While custard is setting, peel and slice apples less than 1/4 inch thick. Melt butter in nonstick pan and saute apples until soft, about 10-12 minutes. Stir frequently so they don't scorch. It will probably have to be done in two batches. 

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9X13 Pyrex casserole dish with Pam. Mix 1/2 of apples with your pudding mixture and add to casserole dish. Spread remaining apples evenly over top of mixture. Pour 1/4 c or more syrup over top of apples and sprinkle 1/4 c brown sugar over the top.

Place in oven in middle rack. Have a baking sheet under the dish. The ingredients tend to puff up considerably and may overrun your dish. Bake for 60-90 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 170 to 180F. Remove and let set fro 45-60 minutes. It may settle a little. Serve warm. As with any pudding, serving with ice cream on top is pure decadence!

Tilapia with Peperoni-Sage Breadcrumbs

This recipe originates from the January 2010 Bon Apetit magazine. I've made a couple of modifications. Instead of the pancetta (Italian bacon), I used peperoni. Instead of making my own breadcrumbs, I just used regular store-bought unseasoned breadcrumbs. I also used lemon-pepper seasoning which the recipe doesn't call for. I use this seasoning on a lot of things. It seems to work with just about anything. I like this breadcrumb preparation. I think at some time in the future, I may bake some catfish and top it with this mix. Or I may fry it in butter and sprinkle with the mix before serving. So, think of other things you can do with this mix besides just fish.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz. peperoni, chopped
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 c plain bread crumbs
• 1 T sage (use fresh if you can)
• 2 or more T butter
• 6 tilapia fillets
• lemon pepper seasoning to taste

DIRECTIONS

Chop the peperoni and brown in pan with olive oil. Remove peperoni to mixing bowl and keep remaining oil in pan. Add bread crumbs and cook until it begins to brown. Add to peperoni and mix.

Sprinkle both sides of tilapia with lemon-pepper seasoning. Heat butter in same fry pan you are using and cook about 3-5 minutes. Flip and cook until it begins to flake. Add more butter as needed. Remove to a serving dish and sprinkle generously with your bread crumb mixture.

Mashed Yams

This recipe came out of the January 2010 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. It is good, but I think I could have done better. Just expected something a little more imaginative from the mag. Give it a try as is if you don't care much for spiciness or sweetness, or dress it up with cinnamon and brown sugar.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 2 T butter
• 1 1/2 tsp sage

DIRECTIONS

You can cook these like Irish potatoes in the microwave. Just pierce all over with a fork and place in microwave. Cook around 5 minutes on each side till done. For real excitement, don't pierce and maybe they'll explode!

When done, cut in half and scoop out potato. Discard skins. Throw in the butter and sage and mash thoroughly until smooth.

It's garden planning time!

Gardening is a year 'round activity. Here we are almost New Year's Day and what could be a better time to plan for another year of renewal than to get online and order the next seasons garden seeds? In preparation for the apocalyptic end of the Mayan calendar in just 1089 days, I am buying pure seed strains, no hybrids. Hybrids don't breed true so you can't be sure what you'll get if you try to save them. My garden is only 24X32 feet at the moment. Last season it started to spread into flower beds around the house. I plan a small addition of about 16X16, but Christmas kind of blew the budget (we're talking practice apocalypse here!). Here's a list of seeds I just ordered this morn:

I ordered lots of seed from Territorial Seed Company in Cottage Grove, Oregon last year and was very happy with what I got. They stock lots of heirloom varieties and pure strain varieties. Here's the selection for this year:

• Apollo broccoli produces prolific side shoots for a long season
• Cool Breeze cucumbers for slicing or sweet pickles
• Baltimore carrot, a sweet carrot about 1 inch by 6 inches, I'm planting this in a sandy spot I've had difficulty with in the past. Too shady and dry so I'm getting desperate.
• Merida carrot can be planted in the spring or fall. I may split the seed and try some both seasons.
• Simpson Elite Lettuce, a slow bolting lettuce variety that should extend into the summer.
• Italienischer Lettuce, a variety that gives my spell checker fits, can be sown spring to fall.
• Purple Viking potatoes, are unique looking - purple! The last time I grew potatoes, I had to fight the fire ants for them. For some reason, this last year we had almost no fire ants, I didn't have to poison them once. Maybe, I'll be lucky again in '10.
• Purple tomatillo is another unique variety. I've been experimenting with salsas lately, and tomatillos are often used in salsa. Forgot to put my last 1/2 dozen in the salsa I made last night, but it's not a requirement. Last season's tomatillo produced a lot of blooms and very small tomatillos, but very few survived to mature. Better luck this year, maybe.
• Ancho Magnifico peppers are another requirement for the garden. don't recall if this is the same variety as last year, but the ancho peppers produced huge quantities of pepper. As these things go, they are a rather mild pepper, only 1-2000 on the Scoville scale. This compares with jalepeno at 2500-8000.
• Anaheim College 64 peppers sound really smart! A new variety for me, but these peppers likewise yield great. They range from 500-2500 on the Scoville scale, so they add a little more bite than ancho.
• Ascent peppers are new, too. They are a small red Thai pepper. According to this source, they run about 50-100,000 on the Scoville scale. I've grown similar varieties, so I should have lots to give away (hope it's legal).

I'm ordering seeds from another company in Randolph, WI. I've not ordered from Vermont Bean Seed Company before and haven't a clue why they are in Wisconsin, but I'm giving them a try. They have a good selection of varieties going far beyond just beans. I'm trying to spread my business around a bit since a lot of small companies have gone out of business the last few years. I've nothing against Park or Burpee, but the small companies are much better at stocking heirloom varieties or pure strain varieties rather than hybrids. The loss of the small companies means the loss of a lot of varieties and a loss of genetic diversity.

• Hurricane Bush beans are said to be good for canning and freezing. I did a lot of that last summer and hopefully this will produce well this year.
• Florida Butter Speckled Lima beans are a mouthful, aren't they? These are really "speckled butter beans" but who in the north could figure that out? Butter beans are good any way you make them, and they are a good, hardy southern plant.
• Spacemiser Hybrid Squash. OK, I did order one hybrid, but their description sounded so good. Last years squash were humongous plants with a so-so production. I missed some of the squash until they were way to big to pick because I couldn't find them under the plant. The spacemiser name caught my eye on this one. 
• Holy Mole peppers are another pepper I fell in love with last summer. This is another hybrid, but it seems hard to find a pure variety. Reported to be around 700 on the Scoville scale, it is a rather mild pepper. I haven't tried to make mole sauce yet, but it has worked well for me in salsas and soups.

Only one more set to go! Totally Tomato is also located in Randolph, WI. Now I realize why their online order site looks just like Vermont Seed Company. Wonder why I had to pay two shipping charges? Hmmmm. Lots of tomato varieties, but they also have a lot of peppers and several other garden seeds. Another first time purchase for me.

• Box Car Willie tomato, has a unique name. Wonder who comes up with these? Supposed to grow to 10-16 oz. Last years tomatoes didn't can very well and seemed to have too much juice and not enough pulp. Could've been the way I did it, but I'll find out this year because this variety is supposed to be a good canner.
• Climbing Trip-L-Crop tomato is another tongue twister. This is supposed to produce 3-4 bushels per plant! And the plants are supposed to grow up to 25 ft! I may be overrun.

That's the total that I ordered this morn, $85.95 worth. Forgot the okra, but I can probably pick it up at the feed store. Almost waited too late last year and had to buy overpriced organically grown seed, but at least I got some. And they did produce well.

I've just bought four onion sets, two sets of red and two sets of white. I also bought garlic at the grocery store. I'll have to remember and order garlic much earlier next year as the companies only ship them in September and October. Getting them online will let me experiment with several varieties instead of the single variety at the grocer.

Anyone else out there garden? I can't imagine not having one any more.

New Year's Salsa

This new salsa gave me an opportunity to try out my new mini-food processor. I quickly found the secret is to load it with really small quantities. If you have things presliced and piled next to the chopper that makes it easy and quick. It gives a very uniform chop so that the salsa looks much better. And it's quicker and easier, too.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 ancho peppers (homegrown)
• 2 holy moly peppers (homegrown)
• 4 small red chili peppers (homegrown)
• 7 cloves garlic (homegrown)
• 8 Roma tomatoes
• one large white onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 T Key Lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp course black pepper
• one bunch cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Chop all ingredients. Combine into a pot and bring to a gently boil for about 30 minutes. Cool and keep refrigerated. Serve with chips.

This is hot, but not too much so. My wife is eating it, so it may not be hot enough!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert 12/18/09

We attended the TSO concert last weekend. It took place in Bossier City, La, in their coliseum. Didn't realize until we got there that I'd attended a hockey game there a few years ago with Joel and other cub scouts. Couldn't resist taking some shots with the cell phone. Fantastic light show. Lots of laser, a finish with pyrotechnics and late in the concert they used some flamethrowers that were unreal. We sat 150-200 feet from the stage and we could feel the heat from the torches. The people on the stage must've been really breaking a sweat! These pics are all blurry and the videos are, too, but you can get an idea of how good of a concert it was anyway.

  

This was on the floor of the coliseum. They built a raisable stage and fashioned it as a launch platform. They used one huge quantity of nitrogen gas blowing out the bottom of this stage to make it look like a launch.

This shot gives an idea of the laser light show. The whole coliseum had a light haze in it. I've been wondering if they raise the humidity or inject a smoke into the air so that the laser beams are easier to see.

I'm too lazy to post my vids on Youtube. But I'm sure you can find some clips that give a far better idea of what was going on than my little vids.

Christmas Turkey Rub

I'm dreaming of a smoked turkey! This may be the best rub yet. I just took two turkeys out of the smoker and tried the heart and liver. Absolute primo! This rub is fantastic. Took about 4 hours in the smoker at about 250-300F. This recipe is enough for two turkeys.

INGREDIENTS

• 7 tsp Rosemary
• 9 tsp Thyme
• 4 tsp Onion powder
• 6 tsp Garlic powder
• 6 tsp Black powder, course
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 c Olive oil
• 1/4 c Worcestershire
• Paprika to sprinkle 

DIRECTIONS

Mix dry ingredients except paprika. I used a mortar and pestle to help grind ingredients finer and mix better. Using your hands, push up between the skin and meat to make an open space. Stuff all giblets into the body cavity. Work your rub into this space and sprinkle some into the cavity of the turkey. Place each turkey into a plastic trash bag and place in refrigerator overnight.

Start your fire. Mix olive oil and Worcestershire sauce using a whisk. Brush mixture over the outside of the turkeys with your hands. Sprinkle paprika moderately heavy over the turkey. Place into smoker and cook until the red indicator pops out if one came in the turkey, otherwise until the thigh meat is about 180F as indicated by a meat thermometer. Let set out for 20-30 minutes so that flavors have time to meld together.

New granola recipe

I'm getting closer to the granola I want. Getting the right amount of honey in there to get it to stick together properly is the hard part. If there's too much, it takes too long to dry and some runs out of the bars. Too little, and the bars are too brittle. This seems to be about the right amount. One other improvement in the future, will be to find some type of mold to create a shape. I oiled my hands and squeezed these together and it worked fairly well, but the size wasn't consistent at all. These taste great and you might want to give them a try.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 c oats
• 4 T flax seed
• 1/3 c sunflower kernels
• 30 Brazil nuts - chopped
• 2/3 c cashew - chopped
• 1 c mixed dried fruit - chopped
• 1 c unseasoned peanuts - chopped
• 1 1/8 c dark honey

DIRECTIONS

Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl. Add honey while mixing. Mix very thoroughly so there are no dry spots in the mix. Oil the trays in food dehydrator and oil hands to mix. Mold into large nuggets by squeezing hard. Dehydrate at 105F for about 36 hours. I wrap in individual plastic wraps and keep in freezer. They'll probably keep for a very long time without this precaution.

Christmas Tree Bread

Janelle and Mintie made a couple of these the last few days. Mintie was to get extra credit at school for taking it in today. This is an old recipe from a magazine. Don't know where or when, but it was glued to a 3X5 card in our recipe box. Makes a nice Christmas treat.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package dry yeast
• 1/4 c warm water
• 3/4 c milk
• 1/4 c shortening
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 to 3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 c sifted powdered sugar
• 2 T milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extra
• Candied cherries

DIRECTIONS

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes

Combine milk, shortening, sugar and salt in a saucepan and heat until warm (105 to 115F). Add milk mixture, egg and 1 cup flour to yeast mixture; beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a slightly stiff dough.

Turn dough onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place in a well greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85F), free from rafts, for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down. Divide dough in half; shape each half into 17 (1 1/2 inch) balls. Arrange 15 balls in a triangular shape on a large, foil-lined baking sheet, placing them 1/4 inch apart in rows of 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. To form the tree trunk, center 2 balls at the base. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.

Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, for 1 1/2 hour or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Combine powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and vanilla; drizzle over warm rolls. Garnish with candied cherries. Yield: 2 coffee cakes.

Cold, Wet, Miserable Weather - NOT

Many of us wake up on a morn like this and think how wet, cold and miserable it is. About 40 degrees and raining. That may be true if you wanted to go to the park. I went out a little bit ago to do some chores and started reminiscing about this kind of winter weather when I was growing up. I've been recreating a bit of that environment in my yard the past few years. I have chickens, a garden, a nice lawn and a greenhouse.

I fed and watered my chickens, something they seem to be utterly oblivious to. Chickens have very simple programming consisting of just two questions: Can I eat it? Will it eat me? My generosity in continuing to feed them while not getting many eggs in return seems to completely escape their notice. Chickens haven't changed that much since I was growing up, I guess. I had chickens two times before I could drive. There had been an old four room sharecroppers house about 60 yards from ours and next to it was a small barn with some chicken wire around it. The house was gone and my dad helped me fix up the little barn for chickens. I could just see myself as a future Bo Pilgrim. I did get a few eggs after a while. My dreams of expansion hit the cold hard reality of a hungry skunk one night, though.

My second attempt was a little more successful. Dad and I built a small chicken house out back and I put up a generous sized chicken pen around it. I guess it never really took off since I can't even remember what happened to the chickens I had in it. I do remember using the chicken house for target practice with my dad's 12-gauge shotgun one day. Dad wasn't real pleased with that.

I had some leftover rice from last night that I spread into the garden. The chickens are allowed to run free in the winter so they can scratch up weed seeds and bugs. They really like anything I throw out for them. I have about twenty chickens right now. Some are about two years old, and some are just babies I bought as day-olds about six weeks ago. Buying chicks in late fall must not be the best of ideas. I started with 26 Banties of different breeds. Eleven of them have died one at a time. They dont' seem to get sick, they just slow down and quit working like a toy with a dead battery. Before long, I should be able to tell which ones are roosters and then I can fire up that George Foreman rotisserie!

Speaking of gardening, I started growing onions and radishes as a kid. Had a simple little cultivator with a plow that fit behind a wheel that I could push. I didn't like onions or radishes, but they were easy to grow. As I got older, my garden grew bigger and more complex. I used to go out and build huge piles of compost consisting of waste hay and fresh manure. I built some when it was cold enough to snow. Loved it even if it was freezing. It always amazed me that you could put a pile together on a freezing cold day and within 24 hours, you'd see steam rising from hot spots in it. Compost piles can reach 160 degrees inside and ti doesn't take long for them to do so. My current compost heap is heavy on dry leaves and doesn't have the nitrogen it need to really start cooking. I don't have a ready manure source and I couldn't get enough green grass to add to it. It will still rot and make a good mulch, but it will take a lot longer than those old ones I built.

Back to the story about my gardens. By the time I finished high school, I had a tiller and built a couple of neat gardens. One was roughly 30 by 30 feet and the other much larger. I followed a philosophy about gardening I hold to this day: rules are made to be broken. Actually, that's a good philosophy about life, but that's a future blog. I could put lots of mulch in the garden and grow tons of tomatoes, beans, you name it. Keep doing that and the soil keeps improving, too. 

My current garden is about 20 by 32 feet. Since I'm out of school for Christmas break, I'll be getting a dump truck load of dirt and expanding it some more. This year, I put up around 70 pints of tomatoes, 20 or so of beans, some peppers (they worked better last year) and bunches of okra. Froze some of all these, too. I'm still using frozen onion and garlic that I grew last winter. It's really a pleasure to be able to cook a meal and say you added some homegrown ingredients to it.

One thing I didn't have as a kid was a greenhouse. I wouldn't have known what to do with one then. One of the reasons we bought this house was the 6 by 8 foot glass greenhouse in back. The previous owners had never used it and didn't know if the heater or electricity even worked. Luckily they did. I replaced two panes of glass and I was good to go! I can't say that I've really done much with it. I haven't had a theme like orchids or anything fancy. Mostly, I've just put a variety of plants in it. I've been able to control the enviroment by using thermal mass to moderate the temperature swings in the winter. I have about 20 of those plastic containers that cat litter comes in. Each one holds a gallon and a half of water, so I keep at least 30 gallons of water to serve as thermal mass. Most of them are on the south side so they get a little heat from the sun. Mostly, they help to reduce wide swings in temperature. I throw away the lids, so they help add some humidity to the air, too. About once a week or so, I'll water all the plants and I'll flood the floor with water. This keeps the humidity up and helps to moderate the temperature.

I just gave away a few large plants. I'm reducing the plants I have in there, because I want to start more peppers and tomatoes again this spring. Starting my own from seed allows me to try varieties I'd never find in the local stores. I also want to start my own pansies and other bedding plants. It take about $60 to plant the flower bed on either side of the front sidewalk. Time to use that greenhouse to save some money, huh?

Enough rambling for now. You can tell I love working out in my yard. Can't do much today but blog and maybe start looking at all those garden catalogs I've been saving.