Bear Cuisine

Harvesting the Sun

AZ has a lot of sun, so a few years back I invested in a solar oven .  The Illinois company makes everything from my small portable, to large ovens used in third world countries for baking the village bread!  They give the following basic guidelines: Follow recipes for conventional cooking, except may need to cut back the amount of liquid.  The time for conventional cooking is doubled.  Avoid salting until the end, as increases the boiling point. Vegetables and meats are cooked without water added.  Cook grains such as oats, rice, or wheat about 2 hours with the usual amount of water.  Dried beans take 3-5 hours with usual amount of water.   

What I especially like is that nothing burns or boils over, and you can leave for a day of errands and come home to a perfect meal.  I have baked muffins for breakfast, then cooked rice and beans simultaneously in stacked pots.

Today I made a Southwest heirloom bean soup from a blend created by Native Seeds, an organization in Tucson, AZ who conserves, distributes, and documents the adapted and diverse varieties of Southwestern agricultural seeds. They provide information as well as retail products.

 

Heirloom Bean Soup      Serves 8-10

1 lb (2 c.) mixed dried bean, lentil, pea, and barley soup mixture

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 parched and peeled green chiles, chopped large

4-6 slices thick lean bacon, cooked and chopped

3-4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp Mexican oregano

salt to taste

 

Rinse and clean bean mix. Combine with bacon, onion, garlic, and oregano in a 12 cup or larger dark colored pot. Cover with 8 cups boiling water. Stir well, then place covered pot into 350 F preheated solar oven. Close door, and cook 4-5 hours, or until beans are soft.  Stir in chopped green chiles and tomato, salt to taste, and cook another 30 minutes.

 

It's quite a feast for the eyes as well as the palate!             Janet

Just A Pinch of Salt

We all know salt is delicious, and was one of our earliest preservatives, but did you know it can help you around the house, too? Here are just a few tips on cleaning with salt: 

• Pour a bit of salt, followed by a few cups of boiling water down your kitchen drain once a week to prevent clogs or unpleasant smells. 

• Greasy pan? Scour it with some salt and a paper towel before washing.

• Salt can remove grease from clothing, too. Just pour some salt on a fresh grease spot on to soak up some of the grease. Then gently scrub some more salt into the fabric and rinse before washing.

• Salt is a great way to remove coffee stains from pots and mugs. 

• A paste of vinegar and salt can add shine to old copper pans and molds. 

• Salt makes a great rust remover for getting bicycles moving again in the spring, or refreshing worn household objects. Make a paste using three parts salt to one part lemon juice. 

• When your child is sick, salt can help clean up messy accidents. Sprinkle salt over the “throw up” and let it sit for five minutes to help absorb the wetness and the odor.

• Salt will also remove fishy smells from counters, cutting boards and refrigerator shelves. 

• Soaking new pantyhose in saltwater can help prevent runs.

• Pour salt over a grease fire to smother it quickly.

(from a recent e-mail from Renee Renninger)

Tuesday, March 31, will mark the one year anniversary for Bear Cuisine. I would love to hear from you What have you especially enjoyed? What would you like to see more of? Suggestions for content?

I will be doing a bit of traveling for a few weeks. Among our destinations is the Louisiana Road Food Festival in New Orleans. I will report extensively when I return.

While I am away from the computer, Janet Harris has graciously agreed to do some guest blogs. Janet is a wonderful and inventive cook and I'm looking forward to what she will be sharing with us.

Hearty Vegetable Broth

According to Lynne Rossetto Kasper, you can use this in any dish where you would normally use poultry or meat stock. The depth of flavor comes from browning the vegetables first. It freezes well for up to six months.

BRODO DI VERDURE

(makes about 3 1/2 quarts)

2 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil

2 large carrots, coarsely chopped

2 large celery stalks celery with leaves coarsely chopped

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped

3 large garlic cloves crushed

1 tablespoon dried basil

2/3 cup white wine

6 large romaine lettuce leaves, coarsely chopped

1 large ripe tomato, chopped, or 2 canned plum tomatoes

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

About 4 to 5 quarts of water

1 Heat the oil i a 12-inch saute pan or skillet (not nonstick) over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onions and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spatula, until the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and basil and cook a few seconds more. Add the wine and stir, scraping up any brown glaze in the bottom of the pan, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer to and 8-quart pot.

2. Add the romaine, tomato (crushing the canned tomatoes as you add them), nutmeg and enough water to cover by 3 to 4 inches. Bring to a gentle bubble, partially cover, and simmer slowly about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Strain the broth into a large bowl, pressing down on the solids to extract as much flavor as possible. Cool and chill. Skim off any solidified oil from the broth's surface. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

(Lynne Rossetto Kasper. The Italian Country Table. New York: Scribner's, 1999.)

Tip. I save scraps of vegetables --onion peels and skins, carrot peels, tomatoes just past it, celery ends-- and put them in a bag in the freezer. When I think I have enough, I take them out , put them in a pot, cover with water and simmer until the stock is ready. I don't use cabbage, cauliflower or broccoli. These are too strongly flavored and would give the stock on off flavor.

Risotto de Farro

Italians are crazy for farro and this recipe is from Tuscany is simply wonderful. One of the best things about this is that you can make this dish several hours ahead of time and then reheat it--taking care not to overcook it. We just loved this dish and I intend to find other recipes from Italy for this amazing grain.

FARRO RISOTTO WITH CHICKPEAS ORANGE AND SAGE

(serves 6 to 8 as a first course, 4 as a main dish)

• 1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) whole-grain Italian farro
  
• Hot Water
  
• 2 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
  
• 15 to 16 large fresh sage leaves, torn into small pieces
  
• A 4-inch branch fresh rosemary
  
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  
• 8 to 10 cups Hearty Vegetable Broth
  
• Shredded zest of 1 large orange
  
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
  
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  
• 1 tightly packed tablespoon fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped
  

Place the farro in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Soak at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a heavy 5-to 6-quart pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, sage, rosemary, fennel seeds and salt. Cover and turn the heat to low. Cook 15 minutes, or until the onions are soft and clear. Uncover, raise the heat to medium-high, and saute the onions to rich golden brown,taking care not to burn the glaze at the bottom of the pan.  About half way through the browning, stir in half the chickpeas.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a gentle simmer.

Drain the farro. Blend half the orange zest, all the garlic, and the farro into onions. Stir 1 minute. Cooking takes about an hour ....{depending on where your farro has come from-more or less time.]

Add 1 cup of broth and cook, uncovered, at a lively simmer until it has been absorbed. Stir frequently. Keep adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed. Stir frequently Keep adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time until it is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste as the dish cooks. When the farro is nearly tender, blend in the remaining chickpeas. Stir in the wine and remaining orange zest and cook until the wine has been absorbed Sample the farro for tenderness with some firmness and no raw taste. Its cleft will have opened up, revealing more of its white interior. It is still too firm, add another 1/4 cup or more stock and simmer until its consistency is creamy and the grain is done. Remove the rosemary sprig.

Remove the pot from the heat, fold in the cheese, and let rest, uncovered, 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper. The Italian Country Table. New York:Scribner, 1999)

Later in the week, we used the leftovers to stuff peppers.

Great leftovers! No one would know that this was a dish made from a previous dinner.

As Ina Garten would say, "How bad can that be?"

Against the Grain

 One day last year, I ordered some farro from Chefshop.com. They must have been advertising it for I didn't remember reading about it before and they made it sound fantastic. One reason I love this company and sometimes violate my self-imposed local only rule is because their descriptions are not hype or blarney. They are true. Back to farro.

Farro, also known as emmer, was one of the earliest domesticated crops in the Near East.It was grown in Egypt and Mesopotamia and eventually through the Mediterranean and Europe. Farro grows well in many types or soils and is appreciated for its nutty, grain flavor. It is also one of those good-tasting foods which is good for you--high in protein, nutrients and fiber. While it is not gluten free, it is considerably lower in gluten than wheat and generally easier to digest.

I now have a new food to love. 

FARRO WITH WINTER GREENS

• 1 cup farro
  
• 3 cups water
  
• 1 lb. organic kale, mustard greens or chard 
  
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
  
• 1/2 cup olive oil
  

Bring lightly salted water to boil. Add farro and turn heat down to simmer;cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, until grains are "al dente."

Rinse greens well and chop them into small pieces. Combine with wheat berries while still warm. combine vinegar and olive oil and pour over ingredients. toss well to coat. Serve or let it rest at room temperature to cool.