Soothing, quick comfort food for winter days

Tags

comfort food, easy recipes, healthy food, quick meals, winter

And did I mention a one pot creation? This sinfully easy concoction suits both families and singles…Are you ready?

Shopping list:

• 1 quart Imagine organic chicken broth (no substitutions)
• one package boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Bell & Evans preferred)
• one pound Red Garnet yam (usually one) peeled and diced (the only yam I eat)
• one pound Carrots of Many Colors (organic found at Trader Joe’s), peeled and sliced
• 1 T Herbes de Provence placed in a tea infuser
• a few ribs of organic kale, rinsed, stem removed, and torn in small pieces
• Himalayan salt to taste
• Serves 4 and may be doubled

Begin with a medium/large stew pot. Pour broth into pan along with the herbes tea ball…and bring to a boil. Add chicken thighs (do not rinse, just open package and add to boiling broth.)

A classic herb seasoning…if not found in this fancy jar, find in the bulk department of WF.

Reduce heat to medium, cover pot and simmer 10 minutes. Add both yam and carrots to broth/chicken, cover, and continue simmering 10 additional minutes. In the final moment, add torn kale to the pot, cover, and cook 1 minute more and not any longer…overcooked kale is bitter! Remove the tea ball (allow to drain into the pot for full herb flavor)

Before serving, shred chicken thighs into reasonable pieces using two forks or your gloved hands…and remove any bits of fat that remain too.

Organic kale is a wonderful, tender, healthful leafy green if cooked properly. NEVER, EVER steam or simmer more than ONE MINUTE. Please.

Have you found these sweet carrots at Trader Joe’s? Carrots of Many Colors are seasonal, so I stock up this time of year.

Have your bread, biscuits, or crackers ready, along with heated bowls (zapped in the microwave for one minute, empty.) Serve the soup steaming, drizzled with a little olive oil.

Dessert can be a delightful pumpkin tart, made at home

This quick soup is colorful, healthy, and may be reheated in portion sizes throughout the week for smaller households or for trips to the office.

Bon Appetit!

And Happy Holidays to all my readers!

Copyright © 2016 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

~ for the love of blueberries

Tags

blueberry, garden, home, jam, life, summer, Virginia

The month of June is blueberry harvest season here in my central Virginia garden. Planted four years ago, the O’Neil high bush variety thrives, sans disease or insect pressure. The ongoing 2015 harvest is a banner year!

This season I decided to use tulle instead of bird netting to keep the harvest bird-free.

I draped the blueberry plants in tulle and used clothespins to hold in place, a much improved method over bird netting. This idea was shared by a veteran garden friend. What do these blueberries remind you of? Ghosts or runaway brides?

O’Neil blueberry high bush variety is my favorite here in my Virginia gardens. Large, juicy fruit greets me every day for nearly one month in June.

After harvesting in the early morning, I place the unwashed fruit on a sheet pan and let them rest at room temperature for twenty-four hours. Any unripened berries will continue to ripen, and of course, I can snitch a handful as I go by during the day! As the fruit ripens, I place in glass jars in the freezer. I am not a fan of plastic…

Sunday mornings I crave a wee breakfast that is special; a meal that celebrates the end of a very long week. Here I whipped up a quick batch of popovers and served them with fresh blueberry conserve and whipped cream! Yum!

today is a good day for blueberry jam, as the berries just keep coming

I began by cleaning my French copper preserving pan with salt and lemon

following a great recipe from The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, the ingredients came together quickly

back to the kiss system…simple, pure, flavorful

as the pan’s contents bubbled, the color deepened

using Rachel Saunders’ technique of sterilizing the jars in the oven, the final jam returns to the oven for 15 minutes longer to seal ~ a huge improvement over the boiling kettle process

projects like this are very satisfying

the little lemon that could

O’Neil blueberries beginning to ripen and keep on giving the entire month of June

with July 4th just around the corner, blueberries make a stunning dessert presence ~ simple, fresh, delicious

my collection of French copper serves me well for my lifetime

Blueberries are a very old fruit, and are native to the US. They are reputed to have both health and nutritional benefits, and are very easy to grow. Recipes are handed down for generations, lauding this well-loved fruit. If you don’t grow blueberries, find a local pick-your-own farm, load up the kids, and have a morning of flavorful fun.

wishing you and yours a pleasant and safe summer, while the flutterbies keep me company here at Swallowtail Cottage. Bon Appetit!

Copyright © 2015 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

rainy day baby bella soup

Tags

comfort food, Dr. Terry Wahls, healthy fast food, organic ingredients, quick recipes, soups for fall and winter, The Wahls Protocol

Following months of dry weather, Mother Nature delivered overcast skies, drizzle, and sporadic rain a few days back — and this moisture will continue for another few days. With exterior painting projects on hold, I turn to the kitchen to pass a part of my day.

Although the temperatures are a mild 72F with high humidity, I am in the mood for a silky soup — my baby bella soup. Whipped up with few ingredients in less than thirty minutes, I decided this recipe is good to share, especially with those who follow Wahl’s Paleo Protocol. I think Dr. Terry Wahls will approve.

ingredients are simple

Diane’s Simple Baby Bella Soup

• One soup pot  (I cherish my Le Creuset Dutch oven)
• 1 T each ghee and coconut oil (I always source organically)
• 20 oz baby bellas, brushed and sliced. In this case these babies were so clean and the stems were so tender, I did not omit the stems.
• 1/2 a medium white onion, chopped coarsely
• 1 generous pinch thyme leaves
• 3 T arrowroot (a wonderful thickener found in the bulk department of Whole Foods)
• 1 quart Imagine organic veggie broth (I swear by this brand, and I tried them all!)
• 3/4 C. full fat organic coconut milk (don’t wimp out and use the diluted stuff!)
• 1/4 C. good quality sherry (or in this case, I used Lairds Apple Brandy, as it was handy)
• 2 t. Himalayan salt (I adore this salt)
• 5-6 grinds of white pepper
• chopped parsley (I always have fresh parsley growing somewhere in my garden)

OK, are you ready for this lesson?

Begin by melting the ghee and coconut oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and saute for 2-3 minutes.

saute onions then add baby bellas

Add sliced mushrooms and salt. Continue to saute for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle in arrowroot powder and stir constantly for 1 minute. (Do not be tempted to substitute corn starch).

add veggie stock and simmer

Add full quart of veggie stock, pepper and increase heat to med-high until soup begins to simmer. Reduce heat back to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
Add coconut milk, sherry or brandy (optional). Do not boil.
At this point, chopped parsley may be added, or the soup may be pureed in batches in a blender for a smooth, creamy soup.

finished soup in minutes

Today I chose to leave the mushrooms in a rustic fashion with a few stems of parsley for garnish.
IF you have followed this recipe without deviation, you will have a silky, delicious, healthy, comforting meal to savor.

Disclaimer: For the past three months, I have followed the eating guidelines of Dr. Terry Wahls, author of The Wahls Protocol.  NO, I do not have any health issues, yet her protocol of NO dairy, NO sugar, NO gluten caught my attention, after numerous UVA students mentioned this diet to me while at market this summer. I adapted this recipe to suit Dr. Wahls guidelines and hope you enjoy this comfort food. And no, I do not receive any compensation for mentioning/showing the list of ingredients or from Dr. Terry Wahls. I simply believe these products are superb and this diet extremely beneficial to my lifestyle.

Let me know if you follow this protocol and if you find this soup delectable.

Copyright © 2014 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

the powerhouse herb…chives!

Tags

chive artichoke pesto, chives, easy recipes, edible flowers, herb garden, nourishing herbs, pesto, quick meals

There are many presumptions regarding herbs—chives in particular.
Many see them as a garnish, and push them aside.
Yay whoa, let me share the reasons why this little herb belongs in your belly.

First off chives are:
Low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium
High in dietary fiber, vitamin A, C, K, B6, Riboflavin, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper, Manganese, Thiamine, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Phosphorus, and Zinc!
So there!
Ready for a tasty, nutritious, signature recipe for chive artichoke pesto? OK!

When I bought my first patch of land back in 2001,
one of the first plants chosen for the herb garden was chives!

humble chives harvested and rinsed and ready for a spin.

edible flowers first thing in the spring!

cut rinsed and spun chives into 2″ lengths–easier for the processor to handle

drain and rinse canned water-packed artichokes

Rinse and spin equal amounts of curly parsley and pack the bowl of your processor with equal portions of chives and parsley. Top with one cup of raw walnuts, cup of drained artichokes, 1 rounded teaspoon kosher salt, juice from 1/2 a fresh lemon, and 6 glugs of virgin olive oil. Process until smooth, scraping bowl a couple of times during processing. FYI, a glug is a free pour out of a spouted olive oil bottle, counting up to six as you pour. My food processor bowl is 7 cup size, so make allowances if yours is larger…

finished pesto divvied up into 8 OZ deli containers, ready for chill down, then freezer for up to six months. By the way one 8 OZ container dresses one pound of pasta beautifully–just add a touch of hot pasta water, 2 T sweet butter and pepper of choice.

You may be saying, “where’s the cheese?” Most of my pestos are sold, therefore
I do not add cheese now as it does not freeze well and many of my patrons are lactose intolerant.
Cheese may be added when preparing pasta or when using as a spread in a sandwich.
When using this pesto for the base of pizza crust, no cheese is necessary.

after processing all the herbs, if you have a bit of pesto, say 3/4 cup, left over in the processor, add a peeled, seeded ripe avocado, spin then use as a dip! Deelish!

Have I convinced you to grow/eat chives?
As I frequently say, “there is more to life than basil pesto!”

Check out the YouTube video from Moss Mountain Farm!

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

the harvest continues…fast & simple, yet oh so tasty

Tags

herbs, quick recipes, summer bounty, tomatoes

oh those tomatoes

About this time of year, those who garden have an abundance of these.
Last week I processed many pounds into ripe tomato chutney, yet more crowded my kitchen counters and by week’s end I wanted a clean slate
so
I rinsed and cored every one of those fat loafers then cut them into large chunks—even the green ones—and added them in one layer to a baking dish.
The more tomatoes, the larger the baking dish.
Then I added an entire head of garlic, unpeeled and broken into cloves.
Then I splashed a generous amount of olive oil over all wedges and sprinkled dry oregano, basil and sea salt to top. Fresh herbs work fine, if you have them on hand.
Gently turn fruit in pan then roast in a 500F convection oven, lower-middle shelf for 40-50 minutes or until remaining liquid is nearly reduced to a silky sauce, moving with a large spoon every 10 minutes.
Taste the liquid after 20 minutes and add a bit of sugar if fruit is too tart, say scant 1/4 cup.
IF you happen to have a cup or two of grape tomatoes lying around on the counter, toss them whole into the mix after 30 minutes of roasting. They will hold their shape and add a nice crunch to the softened saucy heirlooms.
After removing the pan from the oven, and when the dish is cool enough to handle the garlic cloves, gently squeeze the flesh out of their skins back into the sauce.
Cool pan completely on rack and either dole out into deli containers or use immediately over pasta, in a large bowl with crusty dipping bread, or freeze this cooled goodness for later use.
Add freshly grated cheese of choice when serving over pasta or dipping.

after 40-50 minutes of roasting

two cup portions for pasta, dipping, or with cheese platter

This process can be repeated until the bounty is reduced to manageable proportions.
Even double batches can be roasted at one time if a convection oven is used.

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

why not kale…pesto?

Tags

Charlottesville City Market, chive flowers, easy recipes, farmer's market, fast food, food, Home Depot, kale, pesto, stretch gardening, vegetarian

Readers who follow my blog know I adore kale.

an earlier pasta dish with blanched kale and chive flowers

Truly, I eat kale every day—fall and winter—steamed for four minutes, drizzled with olive oil and often topped with two farm raised eggs, easy over. Adding variety to this superfood, I decided to make one of my favorite dishes—pesto.
Why not kale pesto?
Indeed, this dish will knock your socks off.

Diane’s Recipe for Fresh Kale Pesto

Find a large bunch of fresh curly kale, either from your garden or from a local farmer. Strip the leaves off the vein and tear leaves into pieces. Rinse kale, while bringing a pot of water to a boil. In a large bowl, add cold water and a few scoops of ice cubes. Set this bowl near the pot of boiling water. When water is boiling, add kale in batches and blanch for 30-45 seconds, or until kale is bright green. Using a spider, lift blanched kale out and plunge into the bowl of ice water. Repeat process until all kale is blanched and iced.

fresh from the local grower, Whisper Hill Farm ~ 9 stems

ice bath

blanching kale until bright green ~ 30-45 seconds

icing kale to stop cooking

squeeze water out of kale using hands

almond and pecan stash ~ always store nuts either in the fridge or freezer

Squeeze iced kale with hands and place all kale into the bowl of a food processor. Add 3/4 C sliced almonds, 1/2 C pecans, 1 t. fine sea salt, black pepper to taste, 1/2 C virgin olive oil, juice from a whole fresh lime (I use a citrus press), and pulse entire contents, scraping sides of bowl a few times during processing. Add additional olive oil until smooth consistency is achieved.

kale pesto fully processed

Meanwhile, boil your favorite pasta, reusing the blanching water. In this instance I used a combination of organic Casarecce and linguine. When pasta is al dente, remove it from the water using the spider. DO NOT RINSE. SAVE hot pasta water.

al dente Casarecce and linguine

Mix pesto into pasta, adding additional olive oil and a few tablespoons of pasta water to dish until desired consistency is reached. Add a large knob (20g) of room temperature sweet butter and gently toss adding freshly grated Parmesan just before serving.

cooked pasta, knob of butter, kale pesto, toss adding additional pasta water and olive oil as needed

I promise this recipe will make a believer out of you. A real tasty dish that will have your friends talking. Serve with your favorite beverage, crusty bread, and sexy tomatoes if in season. Serves 6. Also nice cold as a left over…

completed dish doused with fresh Parmesan

PS I adore pesto and make three signature pestos from home-grown herbs: French tarragon with pecans, chive artichoke with walnuts in the early spring, and classic basil with walnuts during the summer months. This new kale pesto rounds out my repertoire and I hope you will enjoy them all. There is more to life than basil pesto!

Bon Appetit!

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

heat wave cooler

Tags

beverage recipe, caffeine free beverage, Celestial Seasonings Herbal Tea, heat wave cooler, herbal beverages, Wild Berry Zinger

Although it is still spring in these parts, recently too many days over 90F degrees delivered conditions requiring a caffeine free cooler…try it!

try this easy heat wave cooler. Seen here topped with freshly harvested blueberries from my garden.

Diane’s Heat Wave Cooler Recipe

Bring two quarts of spring or RO water to a boil. Add four tea bags of Celestial Seasonings Wild Berry Zinger herbal tea to a large, heat proof pitcher. Pour boiling water over bags and allow to steep for fifteen minutes, pitcher covered with a plate. Remove tea bags and add 1/3-1/2 C local honey and stir. Chill completely in refrigerator and enjoy whenever that heat wave strikes. Although this photo shows ice in the glass, I prefer not to ice, as it can dilute the flavor. If you wish to ice, add two additional tea bags to the brew.

Diane is NOT compensated by Celestial Seasonings in any way. Just a great product and caffeine free!

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

guilt free dessert ~ almost

Tags

chicken thighs, chocolate, chocolate lovers unite, cocoa, cocoa powder, foodie friends, grade b maple syrup, guilt free dessert, lavender honey, pantry ingredients, quick meals, quick recipes, summer cooler

As hard as I try to wean myself away, chocolate is my vice. At times I manage to distance myself from the stuff, yet always manage to fine the path back. Now, I don’t consume mass branded chocolate bars, yet consume the 60% up variety at least once per week.
With a fresh container of Fage yogurt in my fridge this week, and no chocolate in the house but cocoa, here is what I concocted with much success.
Two of my foodie friends agreed, this is worth sharing:

a delicious brand that lent itself to manipulation

found pantry ingredients

first finished version with dollops of local lavender honey ice cream

second version layered between heavily whipped organic cream

should mention the light meal with thinly sliced roasted chicken thighs and fresh fennel

Recipe for Diane’s Guilt Free Dessert:

To begin, add one container (500g) Fage yogurt to a mixing bowl and add 1/2C dark (grade B) maple syrup or organic agave, 1/2C dark rum (optional), and 2 heaping T of cocoa powder, unsweetened. Gently fold all together until well incorporated. Chill for 2-4 hours before serving as shown above. One container will serve 4. What could be simpler? This keeps in the fridge too, for smaller households or when not entertaining, except yourself! Stir before serving.
To all of you chocolate lovers out there, kindly let me know what you think about this recipe. Should we feel any guilt over this silky concoction?

PS I actually like this dessert best without the rum. If you omit the rum, I add a 1/4 C. of almond milk to thin out the consistency. I promise, you chocolate lovers out there will LOVE this delightful concoction. Promise!

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

thank a pumpkin

Tags

Buy Fresh Buy Local, Cinderella pumpkin, comfort food, cooking, Cooks Illustrated, healthy food, home garden, Long Island Cheese pumpkin, quick recipes, seasonal food, soup, stretch gardening, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

Fall delivers shapely pumpkins to home gardens and farmer’s markets.
I frequently select a beautiful Cinderella variety—as I relate to the story—work, work, work, during the holidays.

Long Island cheese pumpkin

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I created a luscious soup recipe to share with my dedicated blog followers. It gracefully transitions traditional Halloween décor into a memorable starter or a main course. This pretty pumpkin decorated my front stoop from October until this morning, when she came inside for a final shower.

Next she succumbed to the ice pick…

Next she roasted at 400F for two hours until tender.

cool this beauty before removing seeds and skin

When the roasted pumpkin feels tender to the touch, let it cool then remove the meat from the skin—separating the seeds and string, all while avoiding spills of the copious liquid. In retrospect, simply cut the pumpkin into huge wedges, seed, then roast. I vaguely remember doing this last year and most the liquid evaporated, making the pulp removal a breeze.

Diane’s Recipe: Sauté a large, peeled/sliced sweet white onion in 2T olive oil, add 1.5 lb. drained pumpkin pulp (do this in a strainer), 1T sugar, 2t ground coriander, 4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth (I use Imagine Organic), sea salt and black pepper to taste. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add one sliced/peeled/seeded Bartlett pear, remove from heat for 10 minutes. Use a stick blender to puree contents in the pot, or for a finer texture, process in a blender working in batches. Add 2T sweet butter to finish.

Serve in pretty cups garnished with chives and cilantro. Serves 6

Freeze any remaining roasted pulp in 2C containers, as this is the perfect portion for more soup or pumpkin pie. Cooks Illustrated has a perfect pumpkin pie recipe that calls for cooking the pulp a bit more to remove additional liquid…a super solution.

ready for the freezer

the finished soup

Oops, I see the Cinderella light flashing! Now where is that glass slipper??

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

POST SCRIPT: This is pumpkin is actually a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, an heirloom variety. Another favorite is the Rouge Vif D’Etampes if you can find it.

By the way, check out http://gardenclub.homedepot.com/thank-a-pumpkin-making-pumpkin-soup/ to see this post on the Home Depot Stretch Gardening Series! Who knows what else you will find there! Good Stuff!

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved