Author Archives: Pumpkin Ridge Gardens

Fast Sauté of Fennel and Mushrooms

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  • 1 large fennel (with leaves)
  • 1/2 lb whole mushrooms
  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • salt & pepper

Thinly slice fennel, discarding any hard core.  Mince 1/2 cup of the leaves and set aside.  Slice mushrooms to same thickness as fennel.  Heat 1 Tbsp. butter and oil in a sauté pan.  Add mushrooms and cook over medium high heat until brown.  Remove and set aside.  Add remaining butter and fennel to pan.  Cook over medium heat until softened but still crunchy.  Add mushrooms, stir together.  Season with salt and pepper and stir in minced fennel leaves.

From The Victory Garden Cookbook.

Famous Fall Roots Soup

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A trio of fall root vegetables — carrots, leeks, and a rutabaga — forms the savory foundation of this soup. Puréed and enriched with crème fraîche, this potage, with its velvety, smooth texture and glorious orange hue, is always a hit — whether it’s a first course or the main attraction.

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2-1/2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (3 to 4 medium leeks)
  • 1-1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 medium rutabaga (1 to 1-1/2 pounds), peeled and diced
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • Kosher salt
  • 1-1/4 cups crème fraîche
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Heat butter in a large, heavy pot (with a lid) over medium-high heat. When melted and hot, add leeks, carrots, and rutabaga. Sauté vegetables until softened, for 10 minutes or longer. Add stock and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, for about 30 minutes.
2. Purée the soup in batches in a food processor, blender, or food mill, and return soup to the pot. (Or use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot.) Whisk in 3/4 cup of the crème fraîche. Taste soup and season with salt, as needed. (The soup can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat over medium heat.)
3. To serve, ladle soup into shallow soup bowls. Garnish each serving with a generous dollop of the remaining 1/2 cup crème fraîche and a sprinkling of parsley.

LYNNE’S TIPS

• Rutabaga is an often overlooked root vegetable member of the cabbage family. Its pale yellow flesh is slightly sweet. Choose ones with smooth skin and firm flesh that are heavy for their size.
• A sliced yam added to this soup would bring out a sweet touch and play well with the rutabaga.
• This soup can be made ahead and its flavor will only improve.
• When you have time, try roasting the vegetables before cooking them into a soup. Toss the chopped vegetables with a little olive oil, spread them out on a shallow pan and roast at 425 degrees F until they begin to soften and caramelize. Flavors will be more intense.

Makes 8 servings.

Excerpted from Sunday Soup: A Year’s Worth of Mouthwatering, Easy-to-Make Recipes by Betty Rosbottom (Chronicle Books LLC). Copyright © 2008 by Betty Rosbottom.

Elegant Stuffed Pumpkin

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  • 1  pumpkin
  • 2 to 3 cups brown rice, cooked
  • 2 cups crumbled dry whole wheat bread (or part corn bread or other bread)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 to 1 cup chopped celery and leaves
  • 2 apples (tart and unpeeled), chopped
  • 1 cup roasted chestnuts or a handful of cashew nuts, cut in half
  • Herbs: Sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, and paprika to taste
  • 1 to 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup butter, melted, or safflower oil
  • Soy sauce or salt to taste

Cut off top of pumpkin to make a lid. Remove the seeds and scrape out any stringy pulp.   Combine brown rice, bread, onion, celery, apples, chestnuts or cashews, and herbs in a large mixing bowl and mix well with hands. Add stock and butter, and mix well, adding soy sauce and salt if desired. Stuffing should be moist but not wet. Pack loosely into pumpkin, replace lid, and bake on oiled cookie sheet for 1-1/2 hours or more at 325 degrees F. It is done when a fork pushes easily through the pumpkin. Transfer to a casserole dish and serve at the table, scooping out some of the tender pumpkin flesh with each serving of stuffing. You may eat the skin too. (If you have too much stuffing for your pumpkin, place extra in an oiled casserole, cover, and bake for 1 hour.)

Yield: 5 servings Recipe

Source: The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook by Lucy Moll

Easy Strudel Quiche

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  • 2 Tbs vegetable oil
  • 3 cups chopped onions
  • 7-8 cups chopped cabbage
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1 tsp dried dill
  • 1tsp salt
  • black pepper
  • 8 oz cream cheese, cubed
  • 1 1/2 c. grated hard cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 9-inch pie crust

Saute onions in oil until translucent.  Add the cabbage, caraway, dill, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently until the cabbage is limp and both cabbage and onions are begining to brown.  Light browning gives a sweeter, richer flavor.  Remove from heat and drain any excess liquid.  In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and grated cheeses (we prefer smoked cheddar) with sautéed vegetables.  Add egg and mix well.  Put mixture into pie crust and bake in 350 degree oven for approx. 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Roasted New Potatoes

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Last night Polly roasted new potatoes in a very simple way.  While I was grilling other things on the barbecue, she made a simple tray by folding up the edges of a small (1 foot square) piece of aluminum foil.  She poured in 2 –3 Tbs. of olive oil then placed halved new potatoes face down on the improvised tray.  She sprinkled them with salt, pepper, chopped scallions (green onion tops would work well, too), and dill.  We placed the tray on the lower level of the barbecue and turned it occasionally to insure even cooking.  When the spuds were tender to a fork, they were easy to pop off the foil and they came out with a nicely crisp cut face and a light fluffy center.  Yum!

Easy Roasted Kohlrabi

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Trim leaves close to the bulb of the kohlrabi (no need to peel the bulb).  Cut the kohlrabi in half or quarters depending on its size and place on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast at 450 degrees until the kohlrabi is tender.

Easy Minestrone

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  • 1 medium onion or 2 leeks, chopped
  • 3 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 (15 1/2 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 1/2 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups chopped cooking greens
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • salt & pepper, to your liking

In a large pot, cook onions in 3/4 cup broth, over medium high heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add another 1/2 cup broth and garlic. Cook for 5 more minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, rest of broth, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, kale and pasta. Add Italian seasoning, rosemary red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 to 12 minutes, or until pasta is tender.  Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Adapted from Food.com

East Indian Carrot Soup

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  • 1 onion, chopped
  • ½ Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 6 medium carrots, shredded
  • ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp. curry powder
  • 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped (divided)
  • 3 cups canned chicken stock
  • ¼ cup lime juice

Saute the onion in the oil until barely turning brown.  Add the carrots, red pepper flakes and curry powder, and saute about 2 minutes.  Add half the cilantro, chicken broth and lime juice.  Simmer until the carrots are tender but still have definite shape.  Tir in the rest of the cilantro just before serving.  More red pepper flakes and salt may be added while cooking.

Serves 4.

From Fooday.

Dutch Split Pea Soup

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  • 1 lb. dried green split peas
  • 2 1/2 qts. cold water
  • 1/4 c. diced salt pork
  • 1/2 c. chopped leeks
  • 1/2 c. chopped celery
  • 1/2 c. chopped onions
  • 1/2 c. celeriac (celery root), optional
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 pigs knuckle, optional
  • 1 smoked Dutch ring sausage, sliced, or 1 c. sliced Polish sausage or hot dogs
  • Chopped parsley

Rinse peas under cold water and remove all foreign particles.  Place peas in large kettle, add the water, cover and let stand overnight.  Or boil 2 minutes and let soak 1 hour. In a skillet, cook the salt pork 5 minutes.  Add the vegetables and cook 10 minutes, until tender but not browned. Add the salt pork mixture, bay leaf, salt and pigs knuckle to the peas.  Cover and bring slowly to a boil.  Reduce the heat, skim foam from the top and simmer gently 2 hours or until the meat on the pigs knuckle separates from the bone.  Remove the pigs knuckle, shred the meat and reserve.  Discard the bone and the bay leaf.  Strain the soup and press the vegetables through a sieve, or puree in a blender or food processor.  Return the meat and sieved vegetables to the soup kettle and adjust the seasonings.  Add the sliced sausages and simmer 5 minutes longer.   Serve the soup piping hot and garnish each portion with chopped parsley.

6 to 10 servings.

Double Celery Turkey Salad

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  • 1 small to medium sized celeriac
  • 1 1/2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
  • 4 celery stalks
  • 2 Tbs. light sour cream
  • 2 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken, chilled
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 Tbs. homemade or prepared mayonnaise
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 c. pine nuts
  • 1/4 c. dried pitted cherries, halved

Peel the celeriac and grate it on the large holes of a handheld grater or in the food processor to get about 1 cup grated celeriac.  Mince celery stalks.  Put the two celeries into a bowl and add all the other ingredients.  Stir to mix well and serve.  Serves 3 or 4.

From Down to Earth by Georgeanne Brennan.