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Pasta With Fresh Shelled Peas And Fava Beans

Posted by on June 30, 2009 4 Comments

peas and favas 2

I look forward to eating this dish all year long.  The window of opportunity for it is very short, so you have to enjoy it while you can.

 pasta peas 2

Ingredients:

Serves 4 generously or 6 moderately

2 large onions

2 cups fresh shelled peas and/or fava beans*

1/4 cup olive oil

8 ounces pasta (I love angel hair but I think any will do)

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Slice the onions in thin rounds then into quarters.  Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan on med/hi heat, add the onions when the oil is hot.  To caramelize onions you want to stir them frequently and once they begin to clarify, turn the heat down to med.  The onions will be done when they are all caramel colored and soft.  Be careful not to burn them or they will taste bitter.   While your onions are cooking, boil water for pasta.

At the same time your pasta is cooking, add the peas and favas to the saute pan with the onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.  You don’t want to over cook the peas and beans.  Drain your pasta and add it to the saute pan with a small amount of the cooking water.  Add salt and pepper to taste (I use about a teaspoon of salt and about 10-15 grinds of fresh pepper, but I think most people would like this better with more salt).  Toss everything together really well.

Optional: add crushed red pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Recipe notes: this is such an easy dish to make and because there are few ingredients it allows the delicate flavor of the fresh shelled peas and the fava beans to shine.  I often like strong flavors such as garlic and herbs but this is an exception.  It only takes me about a half an hour to make.  Shelling the peas and beans takes time but you can do it while the onions are sauteing.

*If you are using fava beans be sure to remove the outer skin first by blanching and then dunking in ice water.

Filed Under: Summer Recipes | Tagged:

Tomatillo Salsa: A Canning Recipe

Posted by on June 23, 2009 13 Comments

husk 2

I find the husks on tomatillos charming.  I can’t resist taking photos of them.

studyingreen 2

It takes a lot of chopping and dicing to make this salsa, but it’s worth it!

tomatillo salsa jarred 2

Ingredients:
 
5 1/2 cups husked, cored, and chopped tomatillos

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped jalapenos

1/2 cup white vinegar

4 tbsp lime juice

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

  • Prepare canner, jars, and lids.
  • In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil over a medium high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.
  • Ladle hot salsa into jars, leaving 1/2″ head-space. Remove air bubbles and adjust head-space if necessary by adding more hot salsa. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight.
  • Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered by at least 1″ of water. Bring to a boil and process both 8 ounce and pint jars for 15 minutes.

You should know that the amounts I’ve given are for one batch, which is ridiculously small. I made 5 batches all at once. If you’re like me and would like to make a lot at once multiply all of the ingredients by five. It’s nice to know you can do smaller batches, though, because if you have a lot of these ingredients in your garden you may only be able to make a little at a time as things ripen.

You can use other types of hot chili peppers, according to your tastes. I only have eyes for jalapenos because they don’t repeat on me as much as other peppers. I like serranos too but they tend to be too hot for me. If you used a cup of serranos per recipe I think you’d be breathing fire and then you might die (mostly just kidding).  So if you like things hotter, try a blend. Just be sure that the total amount of peppers you use remains the same.

You can also use a little more garlic if you like.

This salsa is quite soupy. Mr. W  wanted to know if it can be made thicker. I’m not sure about that yet. I have to do a little canning research before I know how much I can safely adjust the liquid content. (If I was just making it for fresh eating, instead of for canning, I would just cook it down til it was as thick as I liked). Until I find out, or some other experienced canner gives us the answer, don’t mess with it. It’s amazing just as it is.

Filed Under: Preserving Recipes | Tagged:

Garlic Dill Pickles

Posted by on June 15, 2009 30 Comments

picklejars

 

Fresh from the canner, these pickle slices are still turning from bright green to dark green.

raw cucumbers

You can use small, medium, or large cucumbers, but the larger they are (of course) the fewer you can fit in one jar.

filling jars

You can also do some sliced.  I have found that they are a little softer in texture than the ones I can whole but I like these for sandwiches and it doesn’t bother me.

placingjars

My friend Lisa E. (pictured above) and I learned to pickle dills together.  The first recipe we tried called for pickling spices,  so we cooked up a batch of the vinegar with spices and Lisa, smelling the odor coming from the pot, mentioned that she wasn’t enjoying the smell of the spices and was reluctant to use them, wasting a bunch of cucumbers.  Although I hadn’t thought about it, I didn’t like the idea of my pickles tasting of allspice and Cinnamon either.  We looked furiously for a dill pickle recipe that would have a clean garlicky dill flavor.   We found only one that came close to our idea of how a pickle should be and it came from the Sonoma County Extension office.  We tweaked it just a little bit until it was perfect.  My sister, who is a dill pickle connoisseur called it one of the best pickles she’s ever had!  So here’s the recipe for you to try!

Ingredients:

4lbs (2 quarts) freshly picked small to medium sized cucumbers

4 tbsp canning salt

4 cups vinegar

4 cups water

1 fresh head of dill weed per jar

1/2 tsp mustard seeds per jar

1 clove garlic per jar

6 peppercorns per jar

Method:

1.  Wash cucumbers thoroughly.

2.  For whole cucumbers, small sizes up to 4 inches are preferred.  Larger cucumbers should be sliced, quartered, or halved lengthwise.

3.  Combine salt, vinegar, and water in a pot.   Heat to boiling.

4.  Pack cucumbers into hot clean jars.  For each quart jar add: 1 head of dill, 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, and six peppercorns.  Fill with hot pickling liquid to 1/2 inch of  the top for quart jars, and 1/4 inch for pints.

5.  Process pint or quart jars of whole cucumbers in hot water bath for 10 minutes, jars of slices or halves for five minutes.
6.  Let the pickles cure for 4-6 weeks before opening to taste.

Recipe notes: I have updated this recipe to start off with a larger batch of brine.  Because of the irregularity of cucumber size and shape it is an inexact science to figure out how many jars of pickles you’ll get out of 4 lbs of cucumbers.  Sometimes you can only fit three in a jar, sometimes you can fit six.  So be prepared to whip up another batch of brine.  It’s truly fast and easy to do.  And remember that if you have leftover brine you can save it in the fridge for more pickling projects.

 

Filed Under: Preserving Recipes | Tagged:

Strawberry Milkshake

Posted by on June 11, 2009 3 Comments

strawberry milkshake

Pouring the milk into the blender.

milkshake 2

This is a recipe that uses your frozen strawberries to make a milkshake that is low in sugar, high in flavor, and got my picky eater child to get some protein and fruit in his system.  It is simple, fast, and a great alternative to the more traditional shakes made with ice cream.

Ingredients:

8-10 frozen strawberries

1 cup milk (whole or low fat)

1.5 Tbsp sugar

Put everything in your blender and pulverize it until it is completely smooth.  How many strawberries you use depends on how large yours are and how thick you like your shakes.  Start with the proportions here but feel free to improvise until it suits your specific tastes.

This recipe makes 16 ounces of shake.  (One large one, or two medium ones).

Filed Under: All Season Recipes | Tagged:

Pico de Gallo: Easy, Healthy, Mexican Food

Posted by on June 3, 2009 4 Comments

Pico De Gallo2

En la Cocina with Casa de Lulu

Here in the cocina, we are mixing up a batch of delicious Pico de Gallo today.  We are BIG fans of Mexican food and often prefer to make it rather than run down to the local taqueria.   Mexican food, especially in California, is fresh, delicious and actually very nutritious if you make your own.  We make tacos about  once a week with different fillings and always have fresh pico de gallo or salsa to top it off.  There seems to be some confusion about the difference between to the two, especially in the supermarket.  Salsa is actually sauce and the ingredients are cooked, (or rather roasted), for a smoky spicy flavor.  Pico de gallo is fresh, and can vary depending on the seasons and what you have on hand.

Pico De Gallo 1

So here’s a basic recipe that’s easy to make and delicious to eat.  All the ingredients can be found in any store- super simple.

For 3 generous cups of pico de gallo, you will need:

3 medium ripe tomatoes

2 tbsp minced red or white onion (not yellow!)

½ cup chopped cucumber

½ cup chopped radishes

2 tbsp of minced pickled (in the can) jalapeños

¼ cup minced scallions (optional)

¼ chopped cilantro

Juice of one lime

¼ tsp of granulated garlic powder*

1 tsp kosher salt**

Fresh ground pepper

Pico De Gallo 2

First, take the minced onion and let it soak in water for about 5 minutes- this greatly reduces its potency and allows the flavor to marry well with the other ingredients.  Place all ingredients in a bowl, then add juice and salt and pepper.  That’s it!  Es muy facil, no?

*Heads up all you Twilight fans- notice I add garlic powder not fresh garlic to this recipe.  This is up to you.  I find that fresh garlic is just too potent and overpowers the other flavors.  So if you want to hang out with that pretty boy vampire and knock down some margaritas, you’ll want to go easy on the garlic,  okay?

**Be careful about adding too much salt to this recipe- if you plan on eating this with chips, there’s already plenty of salt on them and you don’t want to sully the flavor too much.

Here’s some variations of the basic recipe that I’ve tried:

  • With beef tacos, I add oregano and lemon juice instead of lime
  • With lamb, I add fresh mint and orange juice
  • With fish, I add some mashed up avocados and chopped red cabbage

Filed Under: Summer Recipes | Tagged:

Caring For Chicks: The First Six Weeks

Posted by on June 2, 2009 7 Comments

chicks 2

How To Care For Chicks For The First Six Weeks

Raising your flock of hens from day old chicks is rewarding, easy, and inexpensive.  A chicken is most vulnerable for the first six weeks of its life which is the general length of time it takes for a chicken to develop their first feathers.  Before they feather out they cannot regulate their own body temperature and are sensitive to both the cold and to overheating.  The most difficult part of raising chicks is managing the temperature in their pen.

To raise chicks you will need:

Housing: Big aluminum tubs are great for raising chicks in but you can also use a large cardboard box, a wire brooder, or a bunny hutch.  If you use a wire cage of any sort you need to make sure the gaps between wires aren’t so large that your chick’s feet can fall through them and get stuck.  I’ve used a large cardboard box (which had to be replaced a couple of times since chicks spill their water frequently) and I’ve used a tin wash tub.  The wash tub was the best.

Heat Lamp: you can get these hat the hardware or feed store for pretty cheap.  You need a lamp that can clamp (or hang) above the chicks’ living space.  The red bulbs that the feed store sell are best but we’ve done fine using regular 100 watt bulbs.

Feeder: I definitely recommend that you buy one of the aluminum feeders that are made for chicks.  It keeps their feed cleaner and makes it harder for the chicks to knock it over.  It’s is a small round (or sometimes long triangular) dish with a top on it with circles cut out so the chicks can get to the feed.  All feed stores carry them and they aren’t expensive.

Waterer: Again, I recommend you get one of the small plastic waterers that are sold in the feed stores.  You don’t want to put a bowl of water in with your chicks for two reasons, the first of which is that they will spill larger quantities of water all at once requiring more frequent litter changes, and the second is that you don’t want to provide water in which the chicks could drown.

Litter: Use only pine shavings.  Cedar is unhealthy for them.

Feed: Buy chick feed from your farm store that is formulated especially for them.

Thermometer: You can get a thermometer at most dollar stores or supermarkets.  You want an outdoor type of thermometer (not a cooking thermometer).  This is the easiest and surest way to manage the temperature in your chicks’ environment.

To set up your chick’s environment you need to clamp the heat lamp to one side of the box, wash tub, or cage in which your chicks will live.  If you’re using a box or a wash tub you need to cover the floor with about an inch of pine shavings.  This will help absorb their droppings and the water they will inevitably spill.  Place their feeder and waterer on the opposite side of the space from the lamp.  If their water gets too warm they won’t drink it.  Chickens are very thirsty creatures and need constant access to fresh cool water.  Place the thermometer somewhere between the side with the lamp and the side with the food.  Now you are ready to add your chicks!

Temperature:  Chicks need access to heat.  For the first week or so of their life they need the temperature to be between 90 and 100 degrees.  After that you should lower the temperature by 5 degrees each week.  You can do this by raising the heat lamp higher each week (you may need to clamp it to something other than the edge of the cage/tub/box in order to lessen the heat enough as they get larger).  You can tell if they are too hot because they will huddle together in the farthest spot away from the heat source.  Likewise, if they are too cold they will all huddle tightly together directly under the lamp.  Ideally you should see your chicks spread out in their pen, some in the warmer spots and some in the cooler moving freely all over their space.

Food and water: It is important to check their water a couple of times a day.  Chicks are messy babies and tend to stand in their water, spill it into their chips, and drink it too.  The water will get dirty frequently so you must keep your eye on it to prevent them from drinking water with their feces in it.  It is sometimes helpful to put their water and food on a brick in their pen to help keep it cleaner by raising it up.

Changing the litter: You should change the litter every other day.  I have always had very messy chicks who spill a lot of their water so if you notice the pine shavings are getting wet near the water you need to remove the wet shavings and add some more dry.  This means I was removing some shavings every day but I only did a full clean out every other day.

Handling Them: Handle your chicks as often as possible.  You can try to train them to perch on your finger (set them on your finger over and over again and eventually as they get used to it they may comfortably stay put).  Small children should be supervised while handling them because they don’t always understand how fragile the chicks are but encourage them to hold the chicks while you are there with them.  Always wash your hands after handling them.  Chicks are birds and everyone likes to eat birds so they will try to get away from you, it’s their instinct.  What you want is for them to eventually feel comfortable enough that when they are full grown it will not be difficult to catch and hold them.  Remember that some chickens are always going to be shy and some will become very curious and friendly.

One of the biggest common dangers that can occur in chicks is “pasting up”.    Pasting up is when a chicks feces sticks to their vent and dries there preventing them from eliminating which, if not caught, will kill them.  So every day you need to check their bottoms for pasting up.  If you see that one of them has poop stuck to their vent gently wash it off using a warm damp washcloth.  It may take some time to clean it up and the chick will not enjoy the activity- but it’s important to take care of it as soon as you see it.

It’s good to remember that sometimes chicks die.  Not because you did something wrong but because they were too weak, or the travel from the hatchery made them sick.  Most vets won’t treat chickens but if you see that any of your chicks aren’t thriving, call the feed store where you got them and ask for the person who is in charge of the chickens.  I have always found those people to be very helpful in determining what’s going on with a chicken’s health.

When your chicks begin to develop their feathers you can let them play a little bit outside on really warm days.  If you do this, be sure that you can pen an area off for them so they are easy to catch and bring inside when it’s time.  Be very careful of predators like your cats and dogs who would love to catch themselves a little chick-snack.  Chicken hawks aren’t uncommon either so don’t leave your chicks unattended!

Chicks are funny to watch.  I never cease to enjoy seeing them fall instantly to sleep no matter what they’re doing or where they are.  They’ll be walking around and suddenly their head will drop to the side and their eyes will close.  The first time I saw my chicks do this I though they were dying or dead!  Spend time with them and enjoy their funny antics.  If you have any questions you can feel free to ask me any time or don’t hesitate to call your feed store.

More information on raising chickens:

Choosing Chicken Breeds For Backyard Flocks

Filed Under: Backyard Flock | Tagged: