What's Cookin' - Getting Kids to Eat

Published November 14, 2007 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

It’s always an adventure getting children to eat. Sure, you can feed them Spaghetti-Os and chicken nuggets for the first 15 years of their lives, but most parents prefer a bit more variety, for themselves if not the kids.

I spent the first 10 years or so of my cooking existence juggling the likes and dislikes of myself and my four siblings. Then I had many wonderful years cooking only for myself and other adults – and I gloried in being able to use onions, mushrooms and even zucchini whenever I wanted.

Now there are nine nieces and nephews in the mix, and I am being forced to once again try to juggle the vagaries of childhood likes and dislikes. First there was the Great Stroganoff Showdown between myself and my sister Tammy’s third child, Emma, and the “Would you just chew your bloody food!” confrontation with her oldest girl, Sarah. I have chased Abbie’s boy Carter – AKA The Human Pinball – around the house trying to get him to hold still long enough to eat something … anything. And since my sister Kristin has moved in with her two offspring I have learned that Kent likes anything meat related but won’t eat pasta and Kassie will eat anything so long as it in no way resembles baby food – this despite the fact that she doesn’t yet have any teeth.

And this past weekend I had a “confrontation” with my brother James’ older boy Jakob, age 4. James and company were visiting from up north and we all gathered together for dinner Sunday afternoon at my parents’ house. I fixed pork roast and candied acorn squash, something I knew the adults would like and that Kassie and Kent would both eat. We sat down and all was well until Jakob, before trying a single bite, whined those dreaded words: “I don’t like this.”

In desperation, I called on the “Popeye” ploy. “That’s pork,” I told him. “That’s the kind of meat Transformers eat. Ratchet gave me the recipe. He’s the medical officer, so he knows what’s best for Autobots.”

My mother, experience in such subterfuge, caught on quickly. “What kind of motor oil did you use? It tastes great!”

“I stuck with 10-30 Castrol oil. Anything heavier overwhelms the taste. Ratchet says it’s best with applesauce.”

Jakob willingly ate the pork, with plenty of applesauce, of course. He also ate Optimus Prime’s favorite spinach (the kid has no idea who Popeye is). The ploy did not work with Bumblebee’s Special Acorn Squash – apparently the texture turned him off – but everyone else, including his 2-year-old brother Kaeden, gobbled it happily. Kent, the resident carnivore, finished the last of the pork and yours truly polished off the spinach. No leftovers. Mission accomplished.

Ratchet’s Pork Roast

I usually omit the motor oil, making this a tasty, low-fat meal for humans and alien robots alike.

1 pork roast, about 3 pounds

2 medium onions

2 cups beef broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Cut the onions in half and slice into large chunks. Layer the onion into the bottom of a small roasting pan and lay the pork roast on top. Mix together the beef broth, garlic and ginger and pour over the pork. Cover the roasting pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees F. Remove the roast and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve and serve with applesauce or top with the onions from the pan. Serves 6 to 8 humans.

Bumblebee’s Special Acorn Squash

OK, Jakob didn’t like it, but most kids – and Autobots – do. The marshmallows can be omitted for a dinner serving all adult humans.

4 acorn squash

3/4 cup brown sugar

ground cloves

ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1 cup mini marshmallows

Cut each acorn squash into quarters and clean out the seeds. Microwave for 10 to 15 minutes or until softened. Let cool. Slice off the rind and cut the squash into slices. Layer the squash into a greased 13- by 9-inch pan and top with the brown sugar. Sprinkle with just a bit of cloves and a generous amount of cinnamon. Cut the butter or margarine into about 10 slices and place on top of the brown sugar. Sprinkle the marshmallows on top of all of it and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the marshmallows are browned. Serves 6 to 8.

Macaroni & Cheese

If all else fails, you can always go for mac & cheese. If you are sick of the boxed stuff, try this recipe, which is sure to please adults as well. For a real treat, use a mix of cheeses for the sauce in this family favorite. For a heartier meal, add cubed cooked ham before baking.

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

dash pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups milk

4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Sauté the onion in the butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add milk and cook, stirring slightly, until thickened and bubbly. Add cheese and stir until melted. Stir the macaroni into the cheese sauce. Transfer to a 2-quart casserole and bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 8.

What's Cookin' - No Leftovers

Published December 5, 2007 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Well, the big day is over. The turkey has been devoured, the mashed potatoes have been consumed and the candied yams have gone the way of the Dodo.

Now what?

Usually there are enough leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner to last at least a week – enough to go from turkey craving to turkey abhorrence. This year, however, we spent Thanksgiving at my sister Abbie’s place in Tooele, and somehow I ended up with no leftovers whatsoever. So now I am sitting here craving a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, a huge dish of candied yams and a pile of stuffing topped with gravy.

If you’re in the same boat I am, you’ll be happy to hear that you don’t have to cook a whole turkey or make a boatload of mashed potatoes to enjoy the taste of Thanksgiving any time you want. Just think smaller portions and shortcuts.

Start with a whole turkey breast instead of the whole bird. You can find them in the meat section of your grocery store. Cook it according to the package and you have a small supply of good white meat to work with. You can then whip up a batch of mashed potatoes using potato flakes. For gravy, McCormick has a great turkey gravy mix that is quick and easy. You can find it with the other gravies and sauces on the soup aisle. Then heat canned yams mixed with some brown sugar and butter in the microwave, top them with marshmallows and put them under the broiler until the marshmallows brown.

The one place I never compromise is the stuffing. Yes, Stovetop is edible, but I like my stuffing full of flavor and texture. Fortunately, thanks to a wonderful invention called a crock pot, homemade stuffing is easier than pie.

If you are in the usual position and have Thanksgiving leftovers coming out of your ears, check out my article in this month’s “St. George Magazine” on how to keep that turkey interesting. (You can see this article soon in my other blog at southernutahwriter.blogspot.com )

Sage Mushroom Stuffing

This is best if you use dried leaf sage instead of powdered. If all you have is powdered, cut the amount in the recipe in half.

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 tablespoons dried sage leaves

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms or 2 4-ounce cans sliced mushrooms.

1 cup matchstick carrots

8 cups dry bread cubes

1 cup chicken broth, plus extra for use during cooking

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter or margarine in a medium saucepan and use to cook the garlic and onion until the onion is tender but not brown. Add the mushrooms and carrots and cook just a bit longer until the mushrooms begin to get soft. Remove from heat. Stir in the sage, salt and pepper. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the mushroom mixture over the bread and mix together. Add 1 cup chicken broth and mix until the bread is just moistened. Put the stuffing mixture into a greased 2-quart crock pot. It may overflow a bit at first, but the size will reduce with cooking. Turn the crock pot on high for about an hour, then turn to low for another 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more broth as needed. Serves 8 to 10.

What's Cookin' - Yule Feast

Published December 19, 2007 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Probably my favorite family dinner of the year is Yule. It’s a fun time of year – and after weeks of get-togethers with tons of candy and sugar and hectic rounds of shopping, it’s great to sit down and eat and catch up on a year’s worth of gossip.

The best part is there was no set traditional Yule menu in my family, so I was able to develop my own traditions. I could steer clear of duplicating the Christmas ham and the Thanksgiving turkey and go with something more unique. At the same time I wanted something fairly easy to put together so I didn’t spend all day in the kitchen when I could be spending it with family.

The answer presented itself about 15 years ago when a friend of mine invited me to a fancy dinner. Xana had just finished reading “Like Water for Chocolate” and was trying out the recipe for hens with rose petal sauce. It was absolutely delicious and I was pleased to find out that it was pretty easy to put together. The hens only take about an hour and a half to cook – a lot better than the 4 to 5 hours you have to wait for a turkey – and it was easy to find fresh rose petals in Los Angeles in December.

Of course, I can’t leave well enough alone and I have modified the recipe over the years. In the original, the rose petal sauce was more like a chutney, chunky and sort of savory-sweet. I opted for a glaze-like sauce that is sweeter and can be used on ice cream just as easily as on hens. When I found it difficult to find fresh roses in St. George in late December, I adjusted the recipe so I could use dried petals saved from earlier in the year, and I added rose hips to give the sauce a nice tang.

To the hens I added chestnut stuffing, the Prima Donna of the dressing world. In LA I was able to find canned chestnuts in the stores, but I have yet to find them in Utah and I always forget to order them ahead of time. Fresh ones can be a bit of an ordeal to peel, but I have made a tradition of roasting them the night before and then peeling them while a watch a movie – “A Christmas Story” is best. The stuffing is then easy to throw together the next day and I cook it in a crock pot so it can do its thing while I mingle with guests.

Add steamed asparagus or green bean casserole and a gingerbread cake for dessert and viola! There is a great meal that looks fancy but doesn’t take long to put together.

That’s my favorite kind.

Chestnut Stuffing

Chestnuts are sweet and rich, making for a delicious stuffing that needs no gravy to make it delicious.

1 cup chopped sweet onions

1/2 cup butter

2 teaspoons dried sage

1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

8 cups dry sourdough bread cubes

1 cup chicken broth

1 pound fresh chestnuts

Cut an X in the shells of the chestnuts. Roast them on a baking sheet at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Let cool, then remove shells and skins. Chop coarsely and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add onion and cook until tender but not brown. Remove from heat and add spices and chestnuts. Put the bread cubes in a large bowl. Add chestnut mixture and broth and toss until moistened. Put the mixture in a large crockpot and set on high. Cook until heated through, then turn to low. Add more broth as needed to keep it moist. Serves 8 to 10.

Cornish Hens with Rose Petal Sauce

Serving individual birds to each dinner guest makes for a beautiful, elegant dinner – yet it is easier and faster than doing a big turkey. The Rose Petal Sauce adds just the right flowery sweetness to the hens.

8 Cornish hens, fully defrosted

olive oil

Salt and pepper

Rose Petal Sauce

Rinse the hens and pat dry. Sprinkle in the inside with salt and pepper and place breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush with olive oil and cover loosely with foil. Roast at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Brush the hens with some rose petal sauce and continue roasting – brushing a couple more times with the sauce – another hour or until a meat thermometer in the thigh reads 180 to 185 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serve each hen on its own plate drizzled with more rose petal sauce. Serves 8.

Rose Petal Sauce

This sauce can taste very different depending on what type of rose petals you use. My rule: If you like the way a rose smells, you will like the way it tastes. Just do not use flowers from a florist, they contain chemicals and often taste very bitter.

3 large strongly scented roses OR 2 cups dried rose petals

2 tablespoons chopped rose hips OR 1 tablespoon chopped dried rose hips

1 sprig rosemary, about 3 inches long

4 cups water

4 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar OR 1/3 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

milk

Put 2/3 of the rose petals and the rosemary sprig in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes covered. Remove from heat and let stand 20 minutes covered. Strain, reserving the juice and discarding the rose petals. Measure the juice and add enough water to make 4 cups. Return the juice to the pan. Shred or chop the remaining rose petals and add to the pan along with the lemon juice, sugar or honey, salt and rose hips. Bring to a boil. Add just enough milk to the corn starch to make a thin paste. Add to the pan and stir until the sauce thickens. Serve warm or cold over ice cream, chicken or Cornish hens. Makes 4 cups sauce.

What's Cookin' - Ordering Out

Published January 2, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

The holidays are now officially over and it is time to breathe a big sigh of relief and get life back to normal. The only problem is, before can be reestablished, all the decorations must come down and be put away. Oh, and all those new acquisitions have to find a place to be “put away” to. Is that another carton of eggnog in the fridge? That has to go. And what on earth do you do with Aunt Marge’s fruitcake?

The even bigger question is: What’s for dinner? If you’re like me, you are so sick of being in the kitchen that rooting in the freezer for a stray Lean Cuisine pushes the limits. You’re too exhausted to go grocery shopping and all those holiday leftovers are gone, so you can’t just tell the kids to go fend for themselves. And after wrestling that tree to the curb, the last thing you want to do is change out of your ragged, paint-stained sweats and go out to eat.

It’s time to order in.

It used to be that the only food you could get take-out was pizza. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with pizza – I can down a couple slices of pepperoni just about any day of the week – but it has never felt like a real dinner to me. It’s the “Dad’s in charge of dinner and he ordered pizza” meal or the “we’re in the middle of moving and need something we can eat as we go” dinner. And I always feel a bit guilty eating it – let alone feeding it to kids.

The choices are much broader now, with most restaurants now doing take-out and some delivering. Unfortunately, when it comes to families, more choices isn’t necessarily better. If you think getting everyone to decide on what kind of pizza to get is hard, try deciding which restaurant to order from and THEN deciding what to order. It’s enough to make you opt for Taco Bell.

Here are a few hints to make the ordering out process smoother:

* Don’t let the family pick the restaurant. Removing this choice drastically cuts down the amount of arguing. Pick the restaurant yourself, then tell them “We’re ordering from (insert restaurant here). What do you want?”

* Have a menu. Don’t go by memory. Have an actual menu in front of you. Some restaurants have their menu listed in the phone book, and still more have theirs listed online. A tiny bit of research will save a lot of headaches.

* Take their orders. Assign someone to be the “waitress” and write down everyone’s order in detail. Double check side dishes, steak doneness and “soup or salad” just like a waitress would. Make sure it is written down legibly.

* Call it in. Use the menu and your list of requests to call in the order. Use the names for the dishes listed in the menu and have the person repeat everything back. Be sure to ask when the order will be ready, and verify the price.

* Go get it. Play rock, paper scissors or draw straws to decide who among the drivers in the group will go pick it up. Send the list of orders with them so they can verify it again when they pick up the food. Tell them to get a copy of the take-out menu for future use.

* Eat. This is always my favorite part.

What's Cookin' - Family Cookbooks

Published January 30, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

One of the biggest quandaries I had this past Christmas was figuring out what to get for my older sister Tammy and her family. They live in Germany, and shipping presents takes forever and costs an arm and a leg. So, what do you get for mom and dad and four girls that is lightweight and compact?

Yeah, I couldn’t think of anything either. I was over at my parents’ house complaining about the problem when my mom made a great suggestion. “Why don’t you send them recipes?” she said.

Have I mentioned that my mom is brilliant?

If there is one thing I have plenty of, it’s recipes. What’s more, I am the only one of my mom’s five kids who inherited her flair for cooking. While we were growing up, Tammy was one of those who could barely heat a can of soup without hurting herself and she is famous in our family for once leaving a char mark in the bottom of the microwave while trying to heat up a chocolate chip cookie.

Tammy has now learned to cook, but she is still leery of inventing in the kitchen. So I went through my recipe collection and picked 24 of my favorites to put in a mini cookbook. I dubbed it “Kate’s Classic Recipes: Easy, fast and ‘comfort food’ recipes.”

For my four nieces – Sarah, age 11, Madeline, age 9, Emma, age 7, and Kira, age 4 – I put together a second collection of recipes. This one is titled “Cookin’ for Kids: Simple recipes for small chefs.” It includes some of the first recipes I learned to make when I was a kid, plus some new ones I have discovered since.

Apparently both collections were a big hit. I got a call from the group asking for clarification on one of the recipes (somewhere in the typing phase I omitted one of the measurements; yes, everyone needs an editor) and they were excited to try out several more.

Kate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is one of the recipes from “Kate’s Classic Recipes.” With most chocolate chip cookies, the cookie part is rather bland and only serves to stick the chocolate chips together. I prefer a cookie that can stand on its own – and the chocolate is just a bonus.

1 cup butter or margarine

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

dash ground cloves

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat together the butter or margarine and the sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves. Add the flour gradually. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop dough by teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Makes about 60 cookies.

What's Cookin' - Easter Lamb

Never Published

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Easter is the celebration of spring, new life and new beginnings. The snow is melting, the crocus and daffodils are blooming, the birds are singing and the rabbits are gleefully reproducing in the fields (there is a good reason the rabbit is the symbol of new life).

In pastoral Europe, Easter and the Spring Equinox – the official first day of spring – have always been greeted with joy and feasting. In the days before modern transportation, however, the choices of what to feast upon were limited. Mothers and grandmothers would poke through the pantries and root cellars hunting for a leftover smoked ham, a parsnip or two, maybe a few winter-dried apples in a dark corner. These would be roasted together with great ceremony and happily devoured by families eager to start the spring planting.

The only fresh meat available for such a feast was lamb. Sheep give birth in late winter – usually around Groundhog Day – so the lambs are a couple months old come Easter. The adult sheep were too valuable to kill for food, plus they were usually too scrawny from a winter of hard eating to be tasty. Ditto with the cattle and the pigs. But those young lambs were tender and sweet, and even the most frugal farmer could usually justify losing one lamb for the sake of celebration.

For a sheep farmer, it was one of the big money-making times of the year. The lambs were weaned and sorted and the extra males – a farmer only needed so many rams in his flock – were sold to neighboring farms and nearby towns for food.

Today we can have lamb any time of year we want, not just in the spring. If we don’t want lamb, we have our choice of any other meat – or meat substitute – we want. How about an Easter turkey? Anyone for grilled steak or shrimp kabobs? The sky is the limit.

But hey, why not stick with tradition and have a leg of lamb or lamb chops? Think about those days when the season of the year determined what you had to eat and the coming of spring was more than just a time to put the snow shovel away. Take a moment to remember why we celebrate.

Herb-Rubbed Leg of Lamb

The trick to lamb is to remove the fell, the thin layer on the outside of the meat, and as much of the fat as you can. If you leave it on, the meat will have a strong flavor that most of us raised on beef find distasteful.

1 5- to 7-pound leg of lamb

Lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, sliced thin

Herb Rub:

1 tablespoon dried mint, crushed

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes OR 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 teaspoon onion salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Remove the fell and trim off as much fat as you can from the meat. Cut 1/2-inch pockets in the meat about 1 inch apart. Brush the meat with the lemon juice, making sure to get juice in all the pockets. Combine the ingredients for the herb rub. Rub over the meat and into the pockets. Place a garlic slice in each pocket. Place the leg, fat side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast at 325 degrees F for 2 to 4 hours or until a meat thermometer reads the desired doneness – 140 degrees F for rare, 160 degrees F for medium and 170 degrees F for well done. Remove the pan from the oven and let the meat rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serves 12 to 16.

Mint Sauce

This is a great tangy-cool sauce to go with any kind of lamb. You can substitute basil for the mint for a great sauce to go with chicken.

1 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves

1 cup malt vinegar

1 pinch of salt

honey

Mix together the mint, vinegar and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes and then let stand covered for 30 minutes. Stir in honey to taste.

What's Cookin' - Easter Leftovers

Published March 26, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Every holiday brings with it one big question: What do I do with the leftovers?

This didn’t used to be a problem for me. I grew up in a family of seven and between us we were able to quite handily finish off that turkey, ham or whatever. If there were a few tidbits left, a sandwich or two, a pan of ham and potato casserole or a batch of corned beef hash took care of it.

With the family now scattered, it is no longer a guarantee that there will be a lot of people over for dinner – and I just can’t seem to cook for just a handful. My brother, James, and his wife and kids came down from Salt Lake for St. Patrick’s Day so we had plenty of people to devour the corned beef and cabbage. But they had to go home before Easter, and I found myself cooking for myself, my youngest sister, Kristin, and my parents.

A 5-pound leg of lamb and all the accoutrements for only four people. Needless to say, I have a pile of leftovers.

The first thing I think of when I hear lamb is shepherd’s pie, so I chopped up the meat and threw it in the crock pot with the leftover root vegetables (a mix of potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips and onions). Pour some beef broth over the top and let it simmer for a few hours and voila! – lamb stew! Top it with mashed potatoes and it is instant shepherd’s pie.

But there are still only four people to eat it … so what do I do with leftover shepherd’s pie?

Well, I could whip up some pastry – or better yet, buy some already-made pie crust – and make lamb pot pie. Or I could stick it back in the crock pot, add some more stuff and make a different lamb stew. Or I could simmer it down until the broth is gone and use that has with eggs for breakfast. Or I could freeze it and sneak a bunch into my parents’ freezer when they aren’t looking. Or I could …

Hmmmm. Does anyone want some shepherd’s pie? I have plenty.

Shepherd’s Pie

Traditional shepherd’s pie uses lamb or mutton, but you can make it using any kind of stew, even canned beef stew.

Leftover leg of lamb or lamb chops, cut into cubes

3 small parsnips, sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 turnip, cubed

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

4 cups beef or chicken broth

1 tablespoon dried leaf sage OR 1 teaspoon ground sage

salt and pepper to taste

3 to 4 cups mashed potatoes

Add the lamb and vegetables to a soup pot or crock pot. Pour the broth over the top so that everything is just covered. Add the sage and stir. Simmer for 2 to 4 hours or until the vegetables are soft and the meat is tender. The broth should be almost gone. If it is too thin and soupy, stir in some mashed potatoes to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fill a deep casserole dish 2/3 to 3/4 full with the stew. Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top and spread evenly to form a “crust.” Stick under the broiler until the top is browned and the filling is bubbly. Serve hot with biscuits or rolls. Serves 8.

NOTE: If the stew is not hot when it is put in the casserole dish, bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until the filling is bubbly, then turn on the broiler to brown the top if needed.

What's Cookin' - Breakfast

Published April 2, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, but it seems to get short shrift in most families. We are all so busy in the morning getting off to work or school that we are lucky to get a bowl of cereal or some yogurt has we run out the door. It’s no wonder we have trouble getting all the nutrients we need to be healthy.

It’s not easy, but you might try just once getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier and having a real breakfast. Whip up an omelet, make some pancakes or at least put some fresh fruit on that cereal and add some toast.

To make it easier in the morning, get everything you can ready the night before. You can whip up the eggs and chop up the ham and cheese for the omelet and have it ready in the fridge. The pancake batter can be made the night before as well, leaving just the cooking for the next morning. And a bunch of strawberries can be cleaned and sliced days ahead for cereal or pancakes.

One thing I like to do is make a big batch of pancakes or waffles and then freeze them for later. Let the extras cool and then lay them on a cooking rack in the freezer until they are frozen through. They can then be kept in freezer bags until you want them. When you want a waffle, just pull it out of the freezer and heat it in a toaster or toaster oven until it is hot and crispy. For pancakes, heat them in the toaster or in the microwave. It’s that easy.

Fruit Pancakes

You can use just about any kind of fruit, including dried, for these pancakes. If you are using frozen fruit, defrost first and drain off any extra moisture.

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 to 6 tablespoons sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 eggs

6 tablespoons melted butter

2 to 2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 to 2 cups fruit – blueberries, dried cranberries, raisins, sliced apples, chopped strawberries, sliced peaches, whatever.

Sift together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Mix in the melted butter and milk, using less milk if the fruit is moist and more if it is dried. Lightly beat the eggs and fold them into the batter. It is OK if the batter is slightly lumpy. Fold in the fruit. Spoon the batter onto a hot griddle and cook until done. Serve with syrup and/or more fresh fruit and whipped cream. Serves 8 to 10.

Bacon Cornmeal Waffles

I believe this recipe first came from “The Joy of Cooking.” It has become a big favorite in my family.

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

1 cup flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup yellow cornmeal

5 tablespoons butter, melted

6 to 12 thin slices of bacon

Sift together the flour, baking powder and sugar. Add the corn meal. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs slightly and stir in the milk. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir in with a few quick strokes. Add the melted butter and stir in quickly. Drop enough batter onto a heated waffle iron to cover the grid about 2/3 full. Layer some bacon on top of the batter. Close the waffle iron and cook 4 minutes or until steam stops coming out of the sides and the top easily lifts. Serve with maple syrup. Serves 4 to 6.

What's Cookin' - Buying in Bulk

Published April 9, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Buying in bulk is a great way to save money. Your family loves grilled chicken, so why not get that 15-pound bag of frozen chicken breasts at Costco? And just think of all the honey-glazed salmon you can make from a 12-pound bag of fish, each piece individually frozen and wrapped.

Yes is saves you money, but it can get monotonous after a while. What’s for dinner? Hmmm … chicken breast grilled, broiled or fried or salmon glazed with honey, lemon sauce or honey-lemon sauce. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when you have 15 pounds of something to get through. But remember: just because it’s packaged as whole chicken breasts or pieces of fish doesn’t mean you have to serve it that way.

The best way to get out of the dinnertime rut is to change the texture. Go ahead and broil the salmon, but then shred it and use in place of the tuna in tuna salad sandwiches or tuna casserole. Or you can slice it up before cooking and use it in place of beef or chicken in your favorite stir fry. Salmon and snow peas … yum!

Chicken is even easier. Cut it into thin strips and use it in your favorite stir-fry recipe or cook the strips with green chilies and make burritos or fajitas. My favorite is to use shredded chicken in place of ground beef. Just cook the chicken breasts in the oven or the microwave until they are cooked through. Let them cool enough to handle, cut them into pieces and then pull the pieces apart with your fingers. It is now ready to use in place of cooked ground beef in pretty much anything. Chili, tacos, spaghetti sauce, stew, meat pie – your imagination is the limit.

Chicken Soft Tacos

Who says dinner has to be difficult? This dish is easy and fast.

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 package taco seasoning (my favorite is McCormick)

6 large flour tortillas

Shredded cheddar cheese

Diced fresh tomatoes

Sour cream

Follow the directions on the taco seasoning, substituting the shredded chicken for the cooked ground beef. Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds or until they are easy to fold and handle. Put about 1/3 cup seasoned chicken mixture in a strip down the center of each tortilla and top with cheese, tomatoes and sour cream. Fold up and serve warm. Serves 6.

Salmon Salad for Sandwiches

The salmon has a richer and less fishy taste than the canned tuna most people use for sandwiches. I personally don’t like celery, so I use water chestnuts to add a pleasant crunch.

2 medium pieces of salmon, cooked

1/2 cup finely chopped celery OR water chestnuts

1/3 cup sweet pickle relish

1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Put the salmon in a small bowl and break it apart with a fork. Blend in the celery or water chestnuts and the relish. Spoon in the mayonnaise and mustard and mix again. If the salad seems too dry, add a bit more mayo or mustard. Spread on your favorite bread and top with lettuce and fresh tomato if desired. Serves 4.

NOTE: instead of making sandwiches, you can stir in cooked pasta to make a pasta salad.

What's Cookin' - Greens

Published April 16, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

My favorite part of spring is the fresh greens. Those cool-season veggies like spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, artichokes and asparagus are in season. Thanks to modern transportation you can get these any time of the year, but right now they are better, fresher and cheaper. Stock up while you can!

I am always in the mood for greens in the spring. Maybe it’s the green grass and fresh leaves on the trees. Maybe it’s the warmer weather. Whatever the reason, I just can’t resist a spinach salad with blueberries, southern-style collard greens with ham or steamed asparagus with mustard sauce.

The delicate greens like spinach are best raw or steamed while the tougher collard and turnip greens need to be boiled or sautéed to remove any bitter taste. Asparagus can be steamed, boiled, roasted or broiled and artichokes can be steamed, grilled or baked. In other words, greens are a versatile as you want them to be.

Artichoke Gratin

This is one of my absolute favorite side dishes. It is far tastier than potatoes.

1 pound artichokes

1 cup milk

butter (for pan)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic, halved

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

white pepper

1/2 cup grated Gruyere or Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Working with one artichoke at a time, bend back and snap off the tough outer leaves on the artichoke. Remove several layers until you reach leaves that are mostly pale green or yellow except for the tips. Cut off the pointed leaf tops that are dark green. Trim the base of the stem and use a vegetable peeler to remove the dark green outside layer of skin from the stem. Use a knife or the vegetable peeler to remove any dark green leaf bases that may still encircle the top of the stem. Quarter the artichoke lengthwise, leaving part of the stem attached to each piece. Beginning at the stem end of each quarter, slide a small, sharp knife under the fuzzy choke and cut toward the leaf tips. Discard the choke. Cut the cleaned artichoke quarters into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Bring milk and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add artichoke slices and cook until tender but crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain and arrange in a buttered baking dish. In a small saucepan, bring cream, garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper to a boil. Remove garlic, and pour mixture evenly over artichokes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until bubbling and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serves 4.

Marinated Grilled Asparagus

Having a barbecue? There’s no reason you can’t have asparagus. Plus, it’s fun to eat asparagus spears off a skewer.

1 pound fresh asparagus

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

2 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons dill weed

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Remove the woody part of the asparagus stalks and discard. Place asparagus in casserole dish. Add remaining ingredients. Marinate at least 1 hour, turning frequently. Place skewers through the middle of the asparagus spears, or place spears in a greased grill basket. Grill over hot coals until tender but still crunchy. Garnish with diced red bell peppers and lemon slices if desired. Serves 4 to 6.

Brazilian Collard Greens

In Brazil, they sauté their collard greens instead of boil them. Delicious.

2 pounds collard greens

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup minced shallots

1 tablespoon minced garlic

kosher salt and pepper

Remove and discard stems from collard greens and cut leaves into strips. Heat oil and butter in large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic, sautéing until brown. Slowly add collard greens, stirring until they reach the desired degree of tenderness, about 15 minutes (time will vary on your personal taste). Add kosher salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot. Serves 8.

What's Cookin' - Herbs

Published April 23, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Nothing adds flavor to your favorite dish – or that dish you don’t like so much – like fresh herbs. Sure, dried herbs will work as well and I use them frequently, but they just can’t match the rich yet delicate taste of fresh, undried leaves. You can buy some herbs fresh at the market, but growing them yourself is really the way to go. They are fresher and you only cut what you need, so you don’t have to worry about them going bad in the fridge.

You don’t need a big – or even a small – herb garden to have fresh herbs. A couple small pots or a window box will work just fine for most cooks. They can be grown inside, outside or both. But best of all, herbs tend to be very easy to grow and are low maintenance so unless you have an extreme black thumb, chances are you can keep them alive.

Cooking with fresh herbs takes a little more effort than using dried, but in my mind it’s worth it. Just cut what you need off of the plant, float it for a minute in cold water, swishing gently to remove any dirt, and pat dry or send it through a salad spinner. Pull the leave from the stem and chop using either a sharp knife or, even easier, a sharp pizza cutter.

When substituting a fresh herb for dried, the basic rule of thumb is double the amount: 1 teaspoon dried equals 2 teaspoons fresh. This is just a guideline, so feel free to adjust according to your tastes. Fresh herbs should be added just a couple minutes before cooking is done with recipes cooked on the stove. They can be added at any time for baked dishes.

Over the next few weeks, I will cover the basic herbs: Basil, peppermint, chives, rosemary, cilantro, oregano and parsley. To tide you over, here is a classic recipe that you HAVE to make using fresh herbs.

Classic Pesto

Pesto is a sauce usually served with pasta that is made with basil and pine nuts. You can substitute parsley all or in part for the basil and walnuts, pecans or almonds can take the place of the pine nuts.

1 cup firmly packed basil leaves

1/2 cup firmly packed parsley leaves

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor with a little bit of salt, if desired. Process until it forms a paste, stopping and scraping the sides occasionally. Serve over pasta or as a dip with crusty bread. Makes about 1 cup.

What's Cookin' - Thyme

Published April 30, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Thyme is one of the best-known herbs in the Western world – who hasn’t heard the song extolling “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme” – but for some reason it isn’t widely used in American cuisine. It is one of the base herbs in Herbes de Provence, a blend used in a wide variety of French cooking, and Virgil praised its use in Mediterranean recipes.

And this is just Thymus vulgaris, common garden thyme. It also comes in varieties that taste and smell like thyme mixed with lemon, lime, orange, lavender, nutmeg, mint, oregano or rose petals. What’s more, it’s a pretty little plant with delicate leaves and flowers in as many colors as it has flavors.

Thyme is a small shrub or creeping ground cover that thrives in hot sun and alkaline soil, so it loves Southern Utah. It is an evergreen in our climate, some varieties turning yellow or red during the cold months before bursting again into green in the spring. The flowers come on in the summer.

If you decide to grow your own thyme, find a sunny, well-drained spot for it and be prepared to water it deeply about twice a week during the summer heat. You can also grow it inside in a sunny window sill for easy access from the kitchen. It can be harvested at any time by simply cutting off the top few inches of the stalks, although the strongest flavor is in the leaves when the plant blooms. Harvest just what you need for your recipe or harvest it all and dry it for future use.

As for cooking with thyme, you can put it in just about anything. It mixes well with parsley, bay leaf and rosemary and can be used in soups, marinades, sauces and casseroles. It is especially good with heavy foods such as lamb, beef, pork and game meats – it’s slightly pungent taste helps alleviate any gamey taste and the herb itself helps the stomach digest the fats. The citrus-flavored thymes are great with fish and chicken and the blossoms can be candied or thrown into salads.

So what’s not to like? Every kitchen should have a bit of thyme.

Sole en Croute with Thyme

This is a classic French dish that matches thyme and sole fillets as a filling for pastry. You can find puff pastry in the freezer section of the grocery store.

4 sole fillets

2 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper

2/3 cup white wine

8 ounces puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Stuffing:

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2/3 cup finely chopped mushrooms (chanterelles are best, but button mushrooms work too)

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Put the sole fillets in a greased baking dish and dot with the butter. Pour the wine evenly over the top and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the fillets from the pan and save the juice. Raise the oven to 375 degrees F. To make the stuffing, melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the onion until soft but not brown. Add the mushrooms and continue sautéing until soft. Combine the rest of the stuffing ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Add some of the juice from baking the fish if needed to moisten the bread crumbs. Divide the pastry into four portions and roll out each one to about the size of a small plate. Place one sole fillet and a quarter of the stuffing on each round of pastry. Fold the pastry over to form a half circle, moisten the edges with the beaten egg and seal. Brush the top with more beaten egg and cut a couple of small holes in the top to vent. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serves 4.

What's Cookin' - Marjoram/Oregano

Published May 7, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Marjoram is one of the most versatile herbs in the spice rack. Its tangy-sweet leaves go well with any kind of meat, poultry or fish. It also goes well with most vegetables, is tasty with egg dishes and adds depth to many sweet dishes, allowing it to carry over from breakfast to lunch to dinner to dessert without breaking a sweat.

There are two main types of marjoram: Sweet marjoram and wild marjoram, which is commonly called oregano. Both have a pleasant tangy scent when fresh and a deeper spicy scent when dried. Sweet marjoram is – of course – sweeter and has a more delicate flavor. The fresh leaves can be tossed in a salad or chopped and stirred into melted butter to be served with fish or artichokes. It is also found in the traditional recipes for Christmas goose, wild pigeon and duck. Oregano has a stronger taste that pairs well with tomatoes holds its own against garlic, making it perfect for tomato sauces and pizzas. It is great with stronger meats like venison, mutton or rabbit and is perfect with just about any kind of cheese. Both varieties add life to a pot roast or chicken dish when added in the last 10 minutes or so of cooking.

Like most herbs, marjoram loves alkali soil and doesn’t mind if you forget to water it every once and a while, making it a perfect addition a Southwest garden. Unlike most other herbs, however, it actually has a stronger flavor when grown in rich soil instead of poor so you will need to mix in some compost to keep it happy. You will be rewarded with lovely white, purple or pink flowers and a multitude of tender green leaves that smell heavenly when warmed by the sun. Pick the leaves and flowers as you need them for recipes or harvest the top two-thirds of the plant just before the flowers open and dry or freeze the leaves for later.

Potted Pigeons

This is a traditional recipe – meaning who knows where it originally came from and who wrote it. It is found in a multitude of old cookbooks, including one found in my grandma’s attic.

Pick, soak and boil the birds with the same care as for roasting. Make a crust as for chicken pie; lay the birds in whole, and season with pepper, salt, bits of butter, and a little sweet marjoram; flour them thickly; then strain the water in which they were boiled, and fill up the vessel two-thirds full with it; cover with the crust; cut hole in the center. Bake one hour and a half.

My translation:

First, I don’t usually have pigeons on hand so I use Cornish hens. Also, this recipe uses pie crust to seal in the moisture while the birds are cooking. I omit the crust and instead use a ceramic covered baking dish.

Clean the birds and pat them dry. Dredge the birds in flour and lay them in an unglazed ceramic baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, top with several pats of butter and sprinkle with crushed sweet marjoram. Pour chicken broth over the top until the dish is two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours or until the juices run clear from the thickest part of the thigh.

Oregano Tomatoes

This side dish is easy and delicious. What could be better?

4 large tomatoes

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano

1 clove of garlic, crushed

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Cut the tomatoes in half and place in a shallow baking dish cut-side up. Beat the butter with the oregano, garlic, salt, pepper and Parmesan. Spread some of the mixture on the cut side of each tomato. Broil the tomatoes for about 5 minutes or until the topping is just turning golden brown. Serves 4.

What's Cookin' - Basil

Published May 14, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Everyone has some aroma, some special scent that they just can’t get enough of. For me it’s the smell of fresh basil.

I love to stick my face right into the plant and breathe its crisp, spicy scent as deeply into my lungs as I can. Basil’s scent is an oxymoron – warm yet cool, airy yet earthy, clove-like and almost minty with just a hint of citrus … just to keep your nose guessing.

I’m not the only one to thing basil is something special. According to legend, basil was found growing on Christ’s tomb after the resurrection, which is why some Greek Orthodox churches use it to prepare holy water. In India it is thought to be imbued with divine essence and people will swear their oaths upon it. And in Haiti and other nearby islands it is sacred to their love goddess and is carried for protection.

All that and it tastes good, too.

I probably use basil more than any other herb or spice, up to and including salt and pepper. I have to add some to any dish with tomatoes in it. Ditto for garlicky dishes. I will throw shredded basil leaves into green salads or layer the leaves on a sandwich to add some extra zing. I use it with chicken, pork, fish, beef, lamb, turkey, shrimp, scallops, potatoes, asparagus, zucchini, acorn squash … you get the picture.

Basil is a little more difficult to grow than some other herbs because it doesn’t handle abuse well. It is a tropical plant so it needs a warm sunny location that doesn’t get scorching sun in the afternoon. The soil can be poor, but it needs to be well-drained and kept moist. It only takes one day of forgetting to water it in our scorching Southern Utah summers and it will wither and die. It also doesn’t tolerate cold at all. Fortunately it grows very well in pots, inside or out, so if you have an east-facing window sill you have an ideal spot for growing basil. If you decide to grow it outside, plant it with your tomatoes, putting seedlings out at the same time and watering them the same amount.

Basic Pesto

Considering my love of basil, it probably comes as no surprise that this is my favorite sauce for pasta. You can play with this basic recipe by using pecans instead of pine nuts or replacing the Parmesan cheese with Romano. Or you can mix it with Alfredo sauce for creamy pesto.

1 cup basil leaves, firmly packed

1/2 cup parsley leaves, firmly packed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 large clove garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine the basil leaves, parsley leaves, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and salt in a blender or food processor. Process by pulsing on and off until a paste forms. Gradually add the olive oil and process until the pesto is the consistency of soft butter. Serve warm or chilled over pasta. Can be frozen for future use. Makes enough pesto for 12 servings.

Basil-Infused Oil

You can use just about any herb to flavor oil, but my favorite is basil. You can use it for sautéing or stir frying or use it as a salad dressing or marinade.

Fresh basil leaves

Extra virgin olive oil OR sunflower oil

Loosely fill a clear jar with the basil leaves. Pour the oil over the leaves until they are covered. Cover the top of the jar with cheesecloth or waxed paper and set the jar in a sunny window. Allow to steep for 2 weeks, stirring daily. Strain the oil and check the flavor. If the basil flavor isn’t strong enough, return the oil to the jar with fresh leaves and steep for another 2 weeks. Store the finished oil in a capped bottle in the cupboard.

What's Cookin' - Coriander/Cilantro

Published May 21, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

One of my favorite things about growing herbs is that you can use more of the plant. For instance, if you grow basil you can use the leaves in recipes and then save the richly scented stems for potpourri or flavored oils. With some herbs you can actually use the whole plant: the leaves, stem, roots, seeds and flowers.

Coriander is one of these versatile herbs. The entire plant carries its characteristic pungent scent and taste, just in varying amounts. The ripe seeds have been used for centuries in sausages and curries and can also be used to add flavor to apple pies, biscuits and tomato dishes. The feathery upper leaves and flowers can be dried like dill leaves and used sparingly in fish dishes and salads. The scalloped lower leaves are so popular they have their own name – cilantro – and are used in salsas, sauces, curries and soups. The stems are used on potpourris and flavored vinegars and the roots can be cooked like a vegetable.

How’s that for a useful plant.

Coriander is one herb most people prefer not to grow indoors because of its pungent scent. If you don’t mind the smell all the time, you can keep several pots of this annual with staggered planting times so you always have what you need for recipes.

In our climate coriander grows best if it is seeded in the fall in a protected area outside. It likes rich soil and plenty of sun. Once it’s sprouted, you can pick the leaves anytime you need cilantro for a recipe or harvest all the leaves when you harvest the seeds and freeze them for later use. Let the seeds ripen and turn brown on the plant, then harvest them and store them in a cool, dry place. Dig up the roots in the autumn as you are sowing a new batch of coriander for next year.

Lentil and Coriander Soup

It’s probably getting a bit warm in Southern Utah for this soup now, but save it for autumn. It is warm – both in temperature and taste – and uses the best of coriander’s flavor. You can make it a heartier dish by adding cooked chicken or beef.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 ounces split red lentils

2 cups tomato juice

1 cup water

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds

1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion for 5 minutes. Add the lentils and sauté for a few more minutes. Stir in the tomato juice, water, salt and pepper and coriander seeds. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Serve hot sprinkled with the cilantro. Serves 4.

Kate’s Salsa

Salsa just wouldn’t be salsa without cilantro, the lower leaves of the coriander plant. You can also use this recipe to make peach-mango salsa by substituting peeled and chopped peaches and mangos for the tomatoes.

3 cups tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup green onions, minced

1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon Jalapeno pepper, minced, or to taste

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients and let stand covered in the fridge at least 2 hours to let the flavors mix. Makes about 4 cups.

What's Cookin' - Tarragon

Published May 28, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Tarragon is a rich, spicy herb that is used extensively in French cooking but for some reason has never really caught on in America. I have no idea why. I use it quite a bit, almost as much as I do basil.

Estragon, as it is called in French, has a sharp, almost fiery taste, which is probably how it got its name – estragon is French for “dragon” and its Latin name is dracunculus, which means “little dragon.” The peppery initial flavor then fades to a milder anise taste, adding depth to any dish it is thrown into. It is wonderful in any kind of egg dish, whether it is simple scrambled eggs or a fancy frittata. It is also great in cream- or egg-based sauces or in salad dressings or mild cheeses. I use it a lot with fish and chicken dishes and occasionally in breads or biscuits. Unfortunately its unique taste is mostly lost when the leaves are dried, which is probably why most cooks don’t bother with it. You have to grow it fresh to get its real benefits.

Tarragon is rather easy to grow, however. It loves a sunny, sheltered spot with rich, dry soil, so it grows rather well in Southern Utah. It needs to be mulched during the winter and divided every three years or so to keep the plant strong, but that’s about all the attention it needs. You can also grow it indoors in a pot and enjoy its warm scent when the sun hits the leaves. Trim off leaves as you need them or harvest the top two-thirds of the plant in late summer and freeze them for later.

Tarragon Butter

Use this tasty butter on bread, fish, eggs, chicken, anything. You can also substitute cream cheese for the butter for a tasty cheese ball.

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

8 ounces butter, slightly softened

juice of one lemon

salt & pepper, to taste

Beat the tarragon into the butter. Then mix in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until smooth. Chill, shaping in a mold if desired.

Tarragon Stuffed Mushrooms

I have always liked fried mushrooms and these ones are just divine. Make sure the oil is good and hot or the ‘shrooms will come out greasy instead of crispy.

1 pound large button mushrooms

3 cups fresh bread crumbs

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves

2 eggs

salt & pepper

1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs

cooking oil

Wipe the mushrooms clean and carefully remove the stalks. Finely chop the stalks and set aside. Place the fresh bread crumbs in a bowl and add the garlic and onion. Stir in the tarragon, one of the eggs, salt and pepper and the mushroom stalks. Mix together to form a soft stuffing. Divide the stuffing between the mushroom caps, pressing in well. Beat the remaining egg in a dish and put the dried bread crumbs in a dish next to it. Dip each mushroom in the egg, then coat with the bread crumbs, making sure they are evenly coated. Heat about 4 cups of oil in a heavy frying pan. Deep fry the mushrooms for 4 minutes or until crispy on the outside. Drain and serve hot. Serves 4 to 6.

What's Cookin' - Sage

Published June 11, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

“How can a man grow old who has sage in his garden,” or so says an old Chinese proverb. The Romans revered the plant and its leaves were gathered with much ceremony. It was strewn on the floor with the rushes in Europe to help dispel evil spirits. And even today it is burned in Native American cleansing ceremonies.

Sage no doubt earned its title as a purifying herb from its clean, pungent scent when fresh or dried. The smoke from burning sage is an effective deodorant, working especially well on animal smells. And when eaten fresh or dried with food, sage helps the body digest fats and protein.

All that and it tastes good, too. Sage is a must with any fatty meats such as pork, sausage or liver and it helps mellow the gamey taste of venison. It is a classic in poultry stuffing and pairs wonderfully with just about any kind of cheese. It is also good in sweet dishes that have a lot of butter – try a little sprinkled in homemade apple pie and you’ll never forget it.

Sage’s downy leaves taste best when fresh or when slowly dried whole, so that powdered sage you get at the grocery store has only a fraction of the herb’s taste. It grows well in Southern Utah, though, so there is no reason not to have at least one bush on hand. It likes full sun or light afternoon shade and light, dry alkaline soil that drains well. Common garden sage grows to be about two feet tall and has lovely lavender blue flowers in the late spring. Leaves can be picked as they are needed or the whole bush can be cut back just before flowering. Extra leaves can be dried slowly and stored whole for later. Crush or crumble them just before adding to a recipe.

Sage Fritters

If you are looking for an appetizer that is beautiful as well as tasty, you can’t beat these crispy fritters. For an even lovelier dish, use the flowering stalks of the sage plant just as it starts to bloom.

20 to 30 sage leaves

3/4 cup flour

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons warm water

1 large egg white

oil for frying

Carefully rinse and dry the sage leaves and set aside. Mix the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Blend in the oil and water until smooth. Let stand in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours. Beat the egg white until stiff and fold it carefully into the batter. Heat at least two inches of oil in a pan until a drop of batter turns brown quickly but doesn’t burn. Dip the leaves one at a time into the batter and fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and keep warm in the oven until all the fritters are cooked. Serve hot with a variety of dipping sauces. Serves 4.

Sage & Mushroom Stuffing

This is the stuffing I make every Thanksgiving to go with the turkey. Instead of cooking it in the bird, I cook it in a crock pot. That way it cooks evenly and stays moist and yummy.

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons dried sage leaves

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup matchstick carrots

8 cups dried bread cubes (I like to use sourdough)

chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter or margarine in a medium saucepan and use to cook the garlic and onion until the onion is tender but not brown. Add the mushrooms and carrots and cook just a bit longer until the mushrooms begin to get soft. Remove from heat. Stir in the sage, salt and pepper. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the mushroom mixture over the bread and mix together. Add 1 cup chicken broth and mix until the bread is just moistened. Put the stuffing mixture into a greased 2-quart crock pot. It may overflow a bit at first, but the size will reduce with cooking. Turn the crock pot on high for about an hour, then turn to low for another 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more broth as needed. Serves 8 to 10.

What's Cookin' - Chives

Published June 18, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

I love onions – grilled onions, sautéed onions, roasted onions, sweet onions, red onions, scallions, green onions … you get the picture. But sometimes a handful of chopped red onion is a bit much for a recipe and I want something a bit mellower. That’s when I break out the chives.

Chives are a close relative of garlic. They don’t form much of a bulb, but they grow a profusion of green, grass-like tops that are just full of sweet, mild onion flavor. They also grow beautiful pink or mauve flower clusters that are even sweeter and milder but still oniony. What could be better?

If you have tried cooking with freeze-dried chives, you probably don’t think much of this herb. That’s because a lot of the flavor is lost in the drying process. They are at their best when fresh and are decent when frozen. Fortunately they are easy to grow and are evergreen perennials in most of Southern Utah so you can always have a stash of fresh chives on hand. They love sun or partial shade and do best in rich, moist soil, although they will do OK in poor soil. They grow in pretty bunches that look a lot like an ornamental grass and the flowers come on in mid summer. Just cut off some leaves or blossoms as needed and let it go or you can harvest all but the bottom 2 inches of the leaves and freeze them for later.

Chives can be used in any recipe that calls for onions if you want a milder taste. Where they really shine, though, is in fish dishes and cheese dishes. There isn’t a fish out there that doesn’t taste great with some fresh chives. And who ever heard of a cheese ball without chives? Sprinkle some chopped chives in cheese soup, mac & cheese or on a cheese sandwich and taste the difference. Yum!

Cheese Bread

Chives are what give this cheese bread its kick. My favorite cheese to use is sharp cheddar, although it is also good with Parmesan or Monterey jack.

1 ounce dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup warm water

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups whole-wheat flour

pinch of salt

1 cup water, heated to body temperature

2 tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups grated cheese

3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1 egg, beaten

Put the yeast in a cup and stir in the 1/4 cup water and the sugar. Let stand in a warm place until it is frothy. Combine the flours and the salt in a large mixing bowl. Pour the yeast mixture into the center of the flour and mix together with a knife, adding some of the warm water. Add the rest of the water and knead the dough for 2 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and sprinkle with flour. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until it doubles in size. Knead the dough lightly. Roll into a rectangle and dot with the butter. Fold it into thirds, then roll it out to the same rectangle again. Sprinkle with the cheese and chives to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll up from the short end like a jelly roll. Place seam down in a greased bread pan and score the top in a diamond pattern with a sharp knife. Let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brush the loaf with the beaten egg and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden on top. Eat warm. Makes one 2-pound loaf.

Sea Bass with Ginger and Chives

This is one of those recipes that prove that gourmet food doesn’t have to be difficult to make.

2 pound sea bass

salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Put the fish in a pan of boiling salted water, making sure the fish is covered. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and arrange the fish on a serving dish. Mix together the soy sauce, oil and ginger and pour over the fish. Sprinkle with the chopped chives. Serve with rice or potatoes. Serves 6.

What's Cookin' - Rosemary

Published June 26, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Can anyone resist the scent of rosemary? It is deep, tangy and resinous, the lighter cousin of the pine tree and juniper. Rub one tiny needle-like leaf between your fingers and take a whiff – it seems to go straight to your brain, making the synapses fire faster and the blood flow stronger. In fact, rosemary has been prized since ancient times for its ability to cure headaches and enhance memory. I like to keep a sprig on my desk and sniff it every so often during marathon work sessions. It really does work.

Where rosemary really excels, though, is in food. It helps the body digest fats, so it has been used for centuries in the cooking of meat dishes, especially lamb and pork. It is also wonderful in potato dishes and is great in breads and rolls. Try it with cheese dishes, especially those using mild cheeses like Neufchatel or Ricotta. Its rich taste also lends itself well to sweet dishes. Try a dish of rosemary sorbet for a refreshing treat or add a few leaves to your favorite fruit pie or use it to give shortbread or pound cake a whole new taste.

The plant itself looks as beautiful as it smells. It grows to a small evergreen shrub and it makes a great hedge or accent in any garden. What’s more, it loves Southern Utah’s climate. It grows so well here it is used by many landscapers. Those lovely draping bushes in the roundabouts and in front of office buildings downtown? Those are all rosemary. All it needs is well-drained soil and a place where it won’t get too cold during the winter and it is a happy camper.

Since rosemary is an evergreen, you don’t have to harvest more than you need at any given time. If you do feel the need to harvest and store some, rosemary is one of the few herbs that retains its flavor well when dried. Just wash the branches and hang them away from direct sun until they are dried and then store them in an airtight jar. Crush or chop the dried leaves just before using.

Rosemary Sorbet

This is a sweet, refreshing treat that makes a great palate-cleanser after a heavy meal. If you want, you can use an ice cream freezer to finish off the sorbet after the egg white is added.

1/2 cup superfine sugar

1 cup water

1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves

juice of 1 lemon

1 egg white

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Chop the rosemary leaves and add to the pan. Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand covered for 20 to 30 minutes. Test for flavor. If the flavor isn’t strong enough, bring to a boil again, remove from heat and let stand another 15 minutes. Strain the liquid and add the lemon juice. Put the mixture in an ice-cube tray and freeze for 2 to 3 hours or until semi frozen. Whisk the egg white until stiff and fold into the mixture. Put in a bowl in the freezer for 3 to 4 hours or until frozen. Serves 4.

Rosemary Cheese Fingers

These make a great bread to go with lamb chops or eat them as a snack.

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

pinch of cayenne pepper

salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter. Combine the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix in the butter. Press the mixture into a greased 8-inch square pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Cut into fingers and serve warm. Makes 12 fingers.

What's Cookin' - Dill

Published July 3, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

Dill always makes me think of summer. All I have to do is brush my hand through the pungent, feathery leaves and I think of potato salad and vinegared cucumbers. I think of big dill pickles sucked on at the amusement park and fish grilling on a cedar plank. My tuna sandwiches – gushy and fragrant from picnic cooler – always have that crunch of kosher dills.

Everyone knows that dill is used to make dill pickles, but it never ceases to amaze me how little it is used elsewhere. The strong, aromatic seeds can be used to pickle more than just cucumbers and they add a pleasant counterpoint to the sulfur in the brassicas: broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, to name a few. It can also be ground up into apple pies – although it should be used sparingly – or in flavored butters, cakes and breads. The milder flower heads can be used anywhere the seeds are for a fresher taste. The leaves are my favorite, though. They still have that dill taste but they are mild and fresh. I like to sprinkle the fresh leaves liberally in the aforementioned potato salad, egg salad, omelets, cheese balls and, most of all, fish dishes.

Dill likes rich, well-drained soil in a protected spot. It enjoys full sun in most places, but here it Southern Utah it benefits from some afternoon shade. It doesn’t transplant well so sow the seeds in place and don’t plant it next to the fennel. The two plants are closely related and they will cross-pollinate, muddling the flavors of both. Dill can be grown indoors so you have a stash on hand year-round.

Young leaves can be gathered whenever they are needed. Gather only what you need, since dill doesn’t hold much flavor when it is dried. The flowering tops can be collected when the fruits are just starting to form. To gather the seeds, wait until the flower head turns brown, then hang the whole plant upside down over a cloth.

Easy Pickles

You can pickle just about anything, although the most common in America is cucumbers. This recipe is written for cucumbers, but you can substitute bite-sized pieces of cauliflower or broccoli.

2 1/2 pounds small cucumbers

2 cloves of garlic

2 dill flower heads with leaves

1/3 cup coarse salt

6 peppercorns

1 cup white wine vinegar

3 cups water

Scrub the cucumbers and soak overnight in salted cold water. Drain. Place 1 clove of garlic and a dill flower in each of two sterilized quart jars. Pack the cucumbers into the jars, either whole or sliced lengthwise. Place the salt, peppercorns, vinegar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over the cucumbers. Seal and label. Store in a cool place for at least 6 weeks before using. Makes 2 quarts.

Old-fashioned Potato Salad

There are a multitude of potato salad recipes out there, each one “the best.” This is an old-fashioned recipe that has a good, fresh taste to it. It makes a good starting point for developing your own “best” potato salad.

4 medium russet potatoes

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 flowering head of dill, finely chopped OR 1 teaspoon dill seed

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon cream or plain yogurt

salt and pepper, to taste

Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender. Cool and slice. Sprinkle the potatoes with the onion, parsley, chives and dill. Blend the mayonnaise and cream or yogurt and season with the salt and pepper. Add to the potato mixture and stir gently. Refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors mingle. Serves 4.

What's Cookin' - Mustard

Published July 9, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

When most people think of mustard they think of that yellow stuff slathered on hotdogs. Of course, there is also the richer Dijon mustard, the strong tasting coarse-ground mustard, sweet honey mustard and Chinese sweet-hot mustard. All of these are sauces and pastes made with the seeds of the mustard plant. But there is much more to mustard than the seeds.

There are actually three types of mustard: Black, brown and white. Black mustard has the strongest flavor and had dark, almost black seeds. It is used in the richer mustards like Dijon. Brown mustard seeds are mellower than black and are used in the basic yellow mustard and other mellower sauces. Many gourmet mustards use a mix of black and brown. White mustard seeds are bitter and are used in pickling brine and as a preservative in some mayonnaises.

The mustard plant is a weedy looking annual that can grow to 8 feet tall and is topped with lovely yellow flowers in mid-summer. The young leaves have a pungent flavor – mustard is in the same family as cabbage and broccoli – and are used in salads. The flowers have a delicate mustard flavor and also can be tossed into a salad or used in sandwiches. They are particularly delicious in cucumber sandwiches. Add a few crushed seeds to soups for a divine flavor. Mustard seeds or mustard paste (homemade or store bought) are a must in any dish containing cheddar cheese; it brings out the best in the cheese’s flavor. And the seeds can be ground and mixed with water or vinegar to make the familiar mustard paste. A word of warning, though: Once you’ve had fresh mustard, you’ll never want that store-bought stuff again.

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of harvesting your own mustard seeds, you can buy them whole or ground. You will still want to grow some plants, though, for the leaves and flowers. Sow a crop every three weeks in a sunny spot and harvest the leaves 8 to 10 days after sowing.

Chicken with Mustard and Thyme

The original recipe was for rabbit, not chicken, but I can rarely get my hands on a decent rabbit these days.

2 tablespoons dry mustard powder

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

salt and pepper, optional

3 fluid ounces water

1 whole chicken, cut up OR 2 pounds chicken thighs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the mustard, flour and thyme together in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Gradually add the water, mixing well into a smooth paste. Spread the paste over all the surfaces of the chicken. Arrange the chicken pieces in a greased baking dish. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender and juices run clear. Serve hot or cold.

What's Cookin' - Fennel

Published July 23, 2008 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

The statuesque fennel plant was highly prized by the Romans. The gladiators added it to their food in the belief that it would make them fierce. Legionnaires took fennel seed to maintain good health and Roman ladies ate the whole plant to prevent obesity. In medieval Europe, the herb gained popularity as a charm against evil and in 812 A.D. Emperor Charlemagne declared that fennel was essential in every imperial garden.

All that and it sits forgotten on most herb-cupboard shelves.

Fennel and fish go together like bread and butter. The mild licorice-like taste of the leaves is divine on lighter fish like cod, flounder or sole and the stronger taste of the seeds is a must with oilier fish such as salmon and mackerel. It can do so much more, though. The leaves and tender stems can be chopped into salads or used to top cooked vegetables and the seeds add depth to sauces, breads and crackers.

Fennel is a perennial plant that grows to anywhere from 5 to 7 feet tall and has dark green, feathery leaves. It is covered with clusters of tiny yellow flowers in mid summer, which turn to dark-brown fruits in the autumn. It grows in just about any soil except clay and loves full sun. Just don’t grow it too close to dill or coriander; they will cross pollinate and ruin the flavor of both plants.

One subspecies of fennel – called Florence fennel or bulb fennel – forms a succulent bulbous rootstock that can be eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable. This plant only grows to about 3 feet and it is grown as an annual.

The leaves and tender stems can be harvested as needed and the ripe seeds are collected in the fall. The “bulbs” of the Florence fennel also are harvested in the fall. The seeds can be dried, but the rest of the plant loses a lot of its flavor through drying. The bulbs are best eaten fresh and the leaves and stems can be frozen for later.

Fennel Flan

This savory custard is great as an appetizer or a side dish. It uses three parts of the fennel plant – bulb, seeds and leaves – and has a wonderful licorice-like taste. NOTE: In Southern Utah grocery stores, Florence fennel is called anise.

Pastry:

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

3 ounces butter, cut into pieces

water

Filling:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 bulb Florence fennel, sliced

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 tablespoons chopped fennel leaves

4 eggs

1 cup light cream

salt and pepper

For the pastry, sift the flower and salt into a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add enough water to form a dough. Roll out to line an 8-inch quiche dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the filling, heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes or until soft. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel. Reheat the oil and sauté the fennel bulb for about 5 minutes or until tender. Drain it on the same paper towel. Spread the onion and fennel over the pastry in the dish. Scatter the fennel seeds and leaves on top. Beat the eggs with the cream, season with salt and pepper and pour over the filling. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold. Serves 6.

Fennel-Stuffed Trout

This is a great recipe for those fresh-caught trout from that fishing trip. You can even make the stuffing ahead of time and cook the trout at a campfire.

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

1 cup finely chopped mushrooms

juice and rind of 1 lemon

1 cup chopped fennel leaf

salt and pepper, to taste

4 8-ounce trout, gutted and cleaned

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter and sauté the onion until soft but not browned. Combine the breadcrumbs, mushrooms, lemon rind, lemon juice, fennel and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooked onion and mix together. Divide the stuffing between the trout and spoon it into the stomach cavities of each one. Put a knob of butter on top of each fish, then wrap in a square of greased aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the fish from the oven, open the foil and broil or barbecue for 5 minutes on each side. Serve hot. Serves 4.