HOUSEHOLD NOTES March 2010

Fresh from storage

Edited by Anne Gray
This is the time of year when fresh food can be boring for many cooks. There is nothing in a grocery chain store that is worth carrying home through the ice or slush. If you live where you have access to a weekly farm market, you can find either fresh or well-stored produce, but for the rest of us, eating local food is mostly what we have put by for ourselves.
For many of us, cabbage, turnips, and squash are the fresh vegetables of choice in March. Dried beans and legumes are always welcome, and sauerkraut is certainly an old-time favorite here in the Atlantic provinces. So, we have a random sampling of what could liven up the taste buds until those first green shoots start popping up in greenhouses and cold frames.
This first recipe is slightly off the beaten track for winter-stored food, but the blue cheese aspect made me think of odd bits of cheese I find at the back of the refrigerator. Many of them didn’t start out as blue, but time and insecure packaging can do that. After shaving off the blue, those bits can be added to soups or stews for flavor, or grated and added to casseroles. Maybe not this one; stick to the blues that have been inoculated with a recognized strain of bacteria.

BLUE CHEESE MACARONI
Bruce Blakemore,
Purgatory Point, N.S.
“A tasty variation of macaroni and cheese – it has become a favorite supper dish. The recipe is an adaptation of one found in the NSLC magazine Occasions. Omit the bacon for a vegetarian version.”

2 cups macaroni
1/4 cup Parmesan, finely grated
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces bacon or Prosciutto
6 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1 cup bread crumbs

Fry bacon or Prosciutto until crisp. Place on a paper towel and drain the excess oil or fat. When cool, chop fine.
Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water for six to eight minutes, or until al dente. Strain and return to pot. Add 1/4 cup butter, milk, and Parmesan to macaroni. Stir till well combined. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Add olive oil to bacon pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent. Stir the bacon or Prosciutto and the blue cheese into the onion. When combined, mix thoroughly into the macaroni.
Place the macaroni into a covered ovenproof casserole, approximately 9” square or round. Melt remaining two tablespoons of butter and combine with bread crumbs. Spread crumbs over the top of the macaroni. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until top is browned and crispy. Serve with salad or green vegetables.

CABBAGE ROLL CASSEROLE
Doris Seaman, Moncton, N.B.

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 10-ounce can tomato soup
3/4 cup water
1 cup cooked rice
3 cups cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Brown the ground beef. Add the onion, salt, pepper, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until the onions are soft, and then drain the fat. Add the soup, water, and rice. Mix well.
Partially cook the cabbage in water or by steaming until just starting to be tender. Layer half cabbage in casserole dish, then add half meat mixture. Repeat and then top with grated cheese. Cover and bake for 1-1/2 hours at 325°F. Serves six.

SAUERKRAUT SALAD
Maddie Legault, Saint John, N.B.

2 cups sauerkraut
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons olive oil

Drain and lightly chop the sauerkraut. Add the sugar and let stand for 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix well, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Makes eight servings.

BAKED SQUASH WITH SAUSAGE
Judy Brown, Borden, P.E.I.

2 winter squash
3/4 pounds sausage
2 apples

Cut the squash in half. Use Acorn or other small winter squash. Clean the squash and rub the cut surface with butter or olive oil. Chop the apples, and mix with the sausage meat. Fill the squash and bake uncovered for one hour at 375° F. Baste occasionally with water if required.

BLACK BEAN SOUP
WITH JALAPENOS
Brooke Gray, Cherry Hill, N.S.
“I love this soup.”

2 cups Black beans, uncooked
8 cups cold water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeno
2 cups chopped tomatoes in juice
2 cups chicken broth
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped green onions
Crumbled feta cheese

Clean and rinse the dry beans. Add eight cups cold water to the beans. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for one hour. Bring back to a boil, turn down the heat and cook until tender, about one-half to one hour. Drain the beans.
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté until the vegetables begin to soften, about five minutes. Mix in the cumin and one teaspoon jalapeño. Add the beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring the soup to boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer three cups of soup to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to the pot. Simmer the soup until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining one teaspoon jalapeño, if desired.
Ladle soup into bowls. Add the cilantro, green onions, and feta cheese to each bowl as desired.

TURNIP CASSEROLE
Graham Hodder, Gander, NL

2 cups turnips, cooked and mashed
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
black pepper
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs

Combine the turnip with 3 tablespoons of the butter, the sugar, and three-quarters cup of the bread crumbs. Beat the eggs and stir into the turnip mixture. Turn the mixture into a buttered one-quart casserole.
Mix the remaining breadcrumbs and butter, and sprinkle over the turnip. Bake in a 350° F oven for 30 minutes, or until brown. (Two pounds of turnips will make two cups mashed .)

SAUERKRAUT
CHOCOLATE CAKE
Elaine Singer, Moose Brook, N.S.
“This cake is very good and very moist.”

1 2/3 cups white sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup black coffee
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sauerkraut, chopped, rinsed, and drained

Icing:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup canned milk
1 cup coconut

Mix all the ingredients the same as any cake, adding the sauerkraut last and mixing in by hand. Bake in a 9” x 13” pan for 25-30 minutes at 350°F. Spread the icing over the cake while it is still hot and place on the lowest rack in the oven under the broiler until it browns and bubbles. Check after a couple minutes. Remove from the oven and enjoy.
BREAD EXCHANGE

BLUEBERRY
WHOLEWHEAT MUFFINS
Myrtle Conrad, Cow Bay, N.S.

2 cups wholewheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup wild fresh or frozen blueberries

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Combine the beaten eggs with the oil, sour cream, and milk. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients; mix well. Fold in the blueberries.
Fill lined or well-greased muffin tins 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until well browned. Serve with butter or blueberry jam.

Mail your recipes, household hints, and requests to Household Notes, care of Rural Delivery, Box 1509, Liverpool, NS B0T 1K0.