Old-Fashioned Dirty Rice

Dirty rice’s origins may come as a surprise to most.  It was not ground beef or pork that made it dirty.  It was giblets.  By grinding (or finely mincing if you don’t have a grinder) both textures and tastes become somewhat less distinguishable.  There are no tough chewy gizzard pieces or chunks of liver to turn off picky eaters.  Giblets from any game bird can be used, as can the heart and liver from your deer.

If you’d like to try the recipe, but are not blessed with any wild ingredients, use what you have.  Even ground beef or pork sausage can be used.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice – preferably long grain

3-4 tablespoons fat

1 cup liver (see notes), finely minced or ground

10-12 ounces gizzards and hearts, well cleaned and ground

1 1/2 cups chicken or beef stock

1/2 cup each onion, green pepper and celery, finely diced

1 hot pepper, minced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 to 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning/spice

1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1/3 teaspoon fresh oregano)

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

4-5 green onions, minced

Directions:

Begin by cooking the rice using your preferred method.  I like using my rice cooker.  When it is done, set it aside to thoroughly cool.  If you have leftover rice that translates into about 4 1/2 cups cooked rice.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the fat over medium-high heat.  When it is not just melted, but hot, drop in the meat and stir it around.  Then spread it evenly across the bottom of the pan and let it develop a crust.  That’s where some of the good taste comes from, so while you’ll need to stir it occasionally go easy on it so you get that crustiness.

If you use a low-salt variety of Cajun seasoning, or if you don’t like it hot so you’re holding back on the seasoning, now’s the time to sprinkle the meat with some salt (unless you are sodium restricted).

After you get that good crust going, add between 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the meat stock to deglaze the pan.  Stir well to get all those delicious morsels that were stuck to the bottom of the pan up into the broth.  Add the onion, peppers, and celery. Mix to combine and cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

Add the oregano and Cajun seasoning, stir and let sit long enough to develop another crust on the bottom.  Flavor, flavor and more flavor!  When you’ve accomplished that additional crust, add the remaining broth and repeat scraping the goodies from the bottom of the pan.  Add the rice and thoroughly stir in.

When the liquid has cooked out, stir in the green onions and parsley.  Serve hot.

About the Ingredients:

Rice: The original recipe calls for long-grain rice.  Substitute only if you don't have it on hand or have food sensitivities.

Fat:  The ideal fat is duck fat.  Since most of us don’t have the luxury of cooking with duck fat, you can substitute lard or extra virgin coconut oil.

Liver:  This can be from any healthy game bird, chicken, squirrel, deer or even raccoon.

Stock:  Any meat stock will do.  You can use a combination as well.   Check out my August 2012 post on making stock.

Hot pepper: Choose your favorite or what you have on hand.  I prefer habañero, but because of its heat I use less.  Adjust this to suit your taste.

Cajun seasoning/spice:  This can be purchased or made.  Check out my August 2012 post for a recipe.

Oregano:  Marjoram can be used as a substitute in a pinch.

Dehydrated Mushrooms

Thank you Aldi - I love your special sales!  Last week I bought 10 containers of mushrooms for only 59 cents each. Could I use up that many before they spoiled?  Don't put me to the test - it's possible, but not wise.  We used a few boxes in stir-fry and to make a revised version of French Onion soup - French Onion Mushroom soup to be exact.  Oh yum...or in my sweetheart's words, "you can fix that again...soon!"
To save them for future use, I chose to dehydrate them.  They take up less space to store and you can easily pick out how many you want, right down to the last piece.
According to the authority on dehydration (Colorado State University) you should scrub the mushrooms and discard tough, woody stalks. Slice tender stalks 1/4” thick, peel large mushrooms and slice. Leave small mushrooms whole. Dip in a solution of 1 teaspoon citric acid per quart of water for 10 minutes. Drain, then dry 8-12 hours until dry and leathery.
After reading the information I decided that while cleaning dirt off the mushrooms was important to me, scrubbing them was not.  If they got wet from cleaning, I dried them with a towel (I'm not going to put something WET into the dehydrator!) before slicing them.  Since I wanted them all sliced I skipped that other step too.  What I would stress to you is slicing them all an even thickness.  You want them all thoroughly dehydrated before storing them.  The citric acid soak wasn't important to me - it's mostly to keep them from discoloring and that has never been an issue.
Next step is getting them on the dehydrator.  My nice big stainless steel dehydrator does not have small enough openings in the trays to keep the mushroom pieces from falling through.  Thank goodness for the old stand-by that served us for many, many years!  I set the temperature around 140 degrees and went to bed.  By morning there was progress, but it wasn't done.  A few hours later it had reached that dry and leathery stage.  Remember than the temperature and humidity in your home will influence this timing.
The end result: 2 quart jars of dehydrated mushrooms ready and waiting for whenever I need them.  It just doesn't get much better than that.

RECAP
1. Clean and dry
2. Slice
3. Place on dehydrator @ 140 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Remove when dry and leathery
5. Store in airtight jars

Homemade Pasta
Why does it scare us just thinking about it?  I know it did me until I finally did it and found out that it wasn't that hard.  Besides, what's the worst that can happen?  If by some wild chance the dough really is a disaster you can always pull some ready-made noodles out of the pantry.  Don't do this the first time for company - no stress, okay?

TOOLS
No fancy tools are needed for this.  You can buy a pasta-maker, but it only rolls and cuts the dough.  You still have to make the dough.
Pastry cutter is nice to have, but not a necessity.  A sharp knife will work too.  NOTE: Think about whether or not your counter can handle a sharp knife pulled across it.  These cutters can range from $3 to $15.  In a pinch, I have used a pizza cutter and it worked well.
A dough scraper is also an inexpensive tool and it makes life easy.
After you can't mix the dough with the fork anymore and before you can handle it well without sticking to your fingers, the dough scraper lets you easily knead it.  It also makes it easier to get off the counter and into the pot.  When I have made pasta in a kitchen that was not equipped with one, I used a pancake turner.

INGREDIENTS (for 2-4 people)
1/2 cup flour
1 egg (at room temperature is best)
dash of salt

PREPARATION
Pile the flour on a clean counter top big enough to roll out the dough. (No you don't need that much space, but why mess up two workplaces?  I start where I'm going to finish, but you don't have to.)  Make a "well" (an indentation) in the middle of the flour.  Add a dash of salt.

Note the extra dough that was pushed aside.
It can be used later when rolling out the dough.

Break the egg into the well and gently beat the egg with a fork, gradually drawing in the surrounding flour. Only incorporate enough flour to make an elastic dough that you can handle.  Lightly knead it a few times until it feels smooth.  Wrap it in a piece of plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.  Don't think you can skip this part.  It's that resting process that will make the dough pliable enough to roll out as thin as you want it.
If you plan on cooking the noodles immediately, get a pot of water boiling (or your soup).  Generously sprinkle the counter with flour.  Take the dough out of the plastic, dredge in flour and work into a flat disc with your hands (at least that's how I like to start).

Place it in the middle of your work surface, sprinkle it with flour and beginning rolling it out.  Always start at the center and roll outwards - don't roll back and forth.  More frequent light rolls are better than just a few heavy-pressure rolls of the rolling pin.  Use the dough scraper, if necessary, to loosen the dough from the counter and turn it over.  You may need to sprinkle more flour where you just picked it up and a little more flour on top of the dough.  Repeat this a few times.  Soon it will be too big to turn and you will decide whether you want to try rolling it a little thinner or use it as it is.  That's personal preference.
Using your cutter, roll across the dough making the noodles as wide or as narrow as you prefer.  Then roll cross-ways if you want shorter noodles.  When the water is boiling, begin picking  up several noodles at a time and drop them in the pot.  The scraper can be a big help here - it loosens the dough from the counter and it makes it easy to carry to the pot.

Only poke the noodles with a spoon enough to keep them from sticking together.  Don't do a lot of stirring.  My guess is that in 8-12 minutes you'll have wonderful noodles.  The exact amount of time is hard to predict - it depends on how quickly you got all the noodles in, what kind of flour you used, and if you kept the pot at a good simmer/light boil.  The best way to tell is pull part of one out and test it.

If these noodles are to be used in a soup with a clear broth, that should remain clear - boil them in a pot of boiling water, drain when done and then add to the hot soup.

OPTIONS
I like to double (or more) the recipe and dry some for later use.  Being the tightwad that I am, buying a pasta-drying rack was out of the question - especially since gadgets should serve more than one purpose. Instead, I use my wooden clothes drying rack.  It only gets CLEAN clothes on it - there's nothing to get grossed out about.  It works and I already had it.  A dish-drying rack can work for shorter noodles too.

Follow all the same steps, but instead of boiling them you will drape them over some sort of dowel rod, kitchen chair or whatever you can come up with that will not be disturbed until they have dried.  Once dry, store them in an airtight container.  NOTE: whole wheat pasta will not keep as long - the oils become rancid. Use it sooner than later.

Bow-ties can easily be made by cutting small rectangles and pinching the centers.  I said it was easy - I didn't say it was fast.  It does produce a nice product that is worth the extra time for certain dishes, assuming you have the time (and patience).

INGREDIENTS
Not all types of flour act the same.  Some will roll out better, some are more nutritious, some don't keep as well.  The best (not necessarily the most nutritious) flour I have used is durum wheat.  It is not white, it is yellow.  It handles well and when you add farm-fresh eggs with their orange yolks to that yellow flour you get some amazing-looking (and tasting) noodles.

Eggs that are at room temperature work better than cold out of the refrigerator.  If you didn't think ahead , put the egg in a mug of hot (not boiling) water for a short time.

METHOD
The reason for the technique of making a well in the flour on the counter instead of a bowl is very good.  Depending on the flour, the egg, the humidity that day and who-knows-what-else, the amounts given in the recipe will not be accurate.  It will even vary from one time to the next when you use all the same things.
To deal with this fact, the technique described doesn't commit you to using all the four if you don't need it.  Remember you are incorporating the flour around the egg.  When you get enough, the rest can be pushed aside.  If you're like me you will occasionally have a break in the dam and the egg will run out.  Hurray for the dough scraper - it will help you.  Don't worry, it's okay.
If you really think you need to use a bowl, break the egg into the bowl and lightly beat it.  Add a dash of salt and half the flour.  As you stir the flour in, gradually add a little bit of flour at a time.  Once you get it in there, it's almost impossible to get it out.  Once you can handle it, pick up with the kneading step described above and continue with the same instructions.

NOTES
You'll see in the pictures that not each noodle looks perfect.  That's because there will always be those from the edges.  If it bothers you, put those aside for your own use - don't use them with company.  They taste just as good.
The bow-ties dried well just leaving them on the counter and turning them over once part way through.

Making Jerky

Making Jerky

“A dehydrator that has an adjustable temperature dial to maintain a steady 130º to 140º F for the entire drying process is an easy way to do this.  While grinding meat and forming it into jerky sticks has become popular, it does require special equipment.  It also requires special precautions since ground meat increases the surface area on which germs collect. 

Whether you choose to grind or slice, please follow safe food practices such as thawing and marinating meat in the refrigerator, working with clean hands and equipment, etc.  Slicing meat uniformly thin is much easier when meat is partially frozen.” – excerpt from Outdoor Guide Magazine Oct/Nov issue.

I promised my readers to go into a little more detail, for which there was no space in the magazine article.  Here it is:

INGREDIENTS:

When you make jerky yourself, you have the ability to avoid the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that drenches many commercial products, as well as the various chemicals, MSG, etc. that are frequently added as well. 

Do not assume that just because something is homemade it is better.  When buying pre-mixed jerky spices, read the ingredients before buying.  While the specific spices may not be listed, many of the chemicals as well as the sugars are.

Speaking of sugars – yes HFCS is a sugar, but what a difference there is in how it affects your body.  We won’t spend time on it here, but suffice it to say that HFCS has a much more negative effect on your body than just plain sugar.  So, if you like a little sweetness, consider using real sugar.

Another ingredient over which there is much controversy is salt.  Now when I say controversy I’m not talking about if it’s bad for you or not.  Those on a salt-restricted diet need to consider either using less salt or eating smaller portions.  Easier said than done!  I’m talking about the controversy over whether or not salt is needed to make jerky.

Note that meat can be marinated, but that is for flavor and tenderness – it has nothing to do with how well it keeps. The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) states that “Marinade recipes may include oil, salt, spices and acid ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice, teriyaki, or soy sauce or wine.”  Note the word “may” – they may include these ingredients – they don’t have to. 

This is also supported by the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline’s recommendations, however both mention the option to heat the meat before drying as an added safety feature.  If storing the jerky for more than a few weeks in the refrigerator or keeping it unrefrigerated while in spike camp for example, then curing salt is beneficial.  In general, 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat is considered “unsalted” jerky.

For salted jerky, many people prefer to brine their meat (in the refrigerator) in a solution of 2-1/2 cups pickling salt per 3 quarts of water.  Remove after 24-48 hours, pat dry and proceed with drying.  You have the option to add spices to the brine or sprinkle them on the meat after brining and drying.

If marinating meat in a marinade that includes soy sauce, keep in mind that this also adds salt.

GOOD HANDLING PRACTICES:
It is noteworthy to mention that along with the USDA's okay on eliminating salt, they give good handling practices that we should follow in all circumstances:
Always wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before and after working with meat products.
Use clean equipment and utensils.
Keep meat and poultry refrigerated at 40º F or slightly below, use or freeze ground beef and poultry within 2 days; whole red meats, within 3 to 5 days.
Defrost frozen meat in the refrigerator, not on the kitchen counter.
Marinate Meat in the refrigerator.  Don't save marinade to re-use.

This is the added safety step both USDA and NCHFP offer:
Steam or roast meat to 160º F and poultry to 165º F as measured with a food thermometer before dehydrating it.  (Neither Don nor I have ever taken this added step in our jerky preparation.)

MARINADE:
The sample marinade recipe provided by NCHFP on their Web site is as follows:

1.5 – 2 pounds lean meat

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon each of black pepper and garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon hickory smoke-flavored salt

They recommend combining all ingredients and then placing strips of meat in a shallow pan covered with the marinade.  Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours or overnight.  Please remember what I said about removing all fat – it becomes rancid quickly. 

SLICING OR GRINDING:

Slice meat thinly with the grain for a traditional jerky.

Slice meat against the grain for a less chewy version.

Uneven slicing makes for uneven drying.  It is crucial that ALL slices are adequately dried before calling them done.

For those who wish to use ground meat hear this:  ground meat increases the surface area on which bacteria will grow.  You must exercise good practices even more strictly to keep the meat safe.   

EQUIPMENT:

Ground meat jerky requires special equipment.  If you are not sure if this is for you, consider finding someone to borrow a grinder and a jerky press from and see if you really want one before purchasing it.  If you do decide to purchase one, consider how much you will use it and buy one that can handle the use.

Drying meat in a food dehydrator is best done with one that has an adjustable temperature dial and will maintain a temperature of at least 130 to 140 °F throughout the drying process.  It isn’t the only one you can use, but it is the most ideal.  Some dehydrators provide settings that state uses (dried fruit, dried vegetables, jerky, etc.).  Those work as well.

DONENESS AND STORAGE:

Test for doneness after it has cooled.  When folded it should be pliable as a green stick (offering some resistance) and not break.  Be sure that jerky has cooled thoroughly before storing.  Premature storage causing condensation could ruin your work.

For the longest “shelf-life” store in the refrigerator or freezer.  I find mine keeps the longest in the freezer…hidden under and behind the frozen spinach and kale. 

I'm back!

Sorry for the long hiatus!  Health issues kept me from continuing this blog, but I'm fighting my way back and am ready to tackle new projects and share them with  you.  Hopefully, as soon as I learn to use my new camera, more photos will also be included.

Focacchia

Fresh focaccia and salad from the last
of the tomatoes and peppers.  Onions
are still going strong.

When the milk is about to get "blinky"...has that certain smell you can't put your finger on, but you're sure if you don't use it right away it will spoil...do some baking.  Traditional Focaccia recipes don't call for milk, but it works really well.  Most traditional recipes I have looked at don't call for eggs either, but in this case I made enough dough for 5 batches of, well, something.  By adding those ingredients, the dough was good for sweet rolls, some of it got finished with whole wheat flour for bread, and in the end one of those batches became Focaccia.
FOCACCIA
This flat Italian bread is baked in a relatively hot oven.  It is topped with olive oil and your choice of Italian spices, grated Parmesan cheese and other ingredients if desired.
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) yeast
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1 2/3 cup warm milk or warm water
Parmesan cheese for grating
1 tablespoon Italian spice mix
1/4 teaspoon crushed chili peppers (optional)
Olive oil and kosher salt
Preparation:
Stir the honey or sugar into the warm milk.  When it is cool enough to add the yeast (120-130º F), sprinkle the yeast over the liquid and let sit for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile measure out 3 cups of the flour and add the salt to it.

The risen dough.

When the yeast has bloomed, add the olive oil or melted butter and then stir these liquids into the flour.  Beat with a spoon or in the mixer with a dough hook until a ball of dough forms.  If doing this by hand, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for several minutes.  In the mixer, continue running it for a few minutes.  Try to add as little flour as necessary and still be able to handle the dough.  Add the last 1/4 cup little by little if necessary.
Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, get out your favorite pizza pan or two, depending on size and prepare it by brushing with olive oil and sprinkling with cornmeal.   Preheat the oven to 425º F.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface, punch down, roll out and put on prepared pans.  Let rise for another 15 minutes.
While you are waiting, get out some kosher salt, bring the olive oil over and a pastry brush if you are so inclined.  When the 15 minutes have passed, use your finger or the end of a wooden spoon to poke indentations all over the focaccia.

Rolled, on the pizza stone, brushed with
olive oil, sprinkled with salt and spices
and then topped with grated Parmesan.

Drizzle with the 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.  This is the traditional way to do it.  However, if you want the olive oil to be evenly dispersed over the bread, brush it out with the pastry brush.  Lightly sprinkle with kosher salt and then sprinkle the spices and grated Parmesan over it.  Use real Parmesan - not the powder in a can.  You'll be glad you did.
Place in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 375º F.  Bake for 15-25 minutes or until lightly golden.  Baking time will depend on your oven and how thick or thin you made the bread.  Two easy ways to cut it are using a pizza cutter or a good pair of kitchen shears.
Option:
Dice half an onion and sauté in a little olive oil.  Add some minced garlic cloves, stir for a moment, turn off heat and let cool.  Spread across focaccia before sprinkling it with spices.
Sweet Option:
My mom would take her leftover yeast dough from cake baking and roll it out much like the focacchia dough.  She'd poke indentations in it too.  Then she would cut little chunks of butter and place one in each indentation.  To finish it off she would sprinkle the whole thing with sugar and pop it in the oven.  What a treat!  In our German home it was called "Zuckerkuchen" (sugar cake).  When there was enough for two little rounds, she'd sprinkle one with grated coconut.  It just doesn't get any better than that!
HOMEMADE ITALIAN SPICE MIX:
There are as many combinations as there are cooks.  You can tweak this to suit your taste.  Some recipes call for a teaspoon of dried minced garlic.  I leave it out and use fresh from the garden when appropriate (which is almost always).
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried thyme

TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS:

I's a good idea to find a place to
hide your own secret stash.

It’s that wonderful time again – there’s a chill in the air and soon there will be frost on the pumpkin.  Oh how we look forward to the smell and taste of pumpkin pie, bread, whoopie pies, fudge…and the list goes on.  Many of those who have recognized the superior quality and taste of locally grown foods also value the idea of using every possible part of what they grow or buy at the local farmers market.  Did you know those delicious, crunchy pumpkin seeds are packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants?  Shhh…don’t tell the kids they are good for them.
Keep in mind too, that you don't have to limit yourself to pumpkin seeds.  The acorn, butternut and spaghetti squashes that make it through my kitchen are fair game for toasting too.

Preparation:
1.  Scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin and separate the seeds from the stringy flesh.

2.  Place them in a big bowl of water and rub them through your fingers to completely clean them and rid them of any remaining stringy bits of flesh.
3.  Drain well in a strainer.  You won’t get them dry, but you will remove most of the water.
4.  Place in a single layer on a lightly-oiled cookie sheet and place in the oven on its lowest setting to dry.
5.  Remove the seeds when dry and turn the oven up to 250º F.
6.  Put the seeds into a bowl.  Lightly drizzle with your choice of oil or melted butter.  Stir them to coat.
7.  Spread the seeds in a single layer on a large cake pan or cookie sheet(s) and sprinkle with your favorite seasoning.
8.  Place into the preheated oven.  Be aware that they can burn quickly, so watch closely and stir every 5-10 minutes.  Bake until they are crisp and golden.  This could take anywhere from 10 – 45 minutes depending on the seeds and your oven.

Options:
When using seeds from large carving pumpkins rather than small pie pumpkins, some people simmer the seeds in salt water for 10 minutes before toasting.

Comments on Ingredients:
You don’t have to stick to the traditional salt seasoning.  Here are some other tasty possibilities:  salt and pepper; taco seasoning; cayenne pepper; garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce; cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. If you have a favorite combination for roasted nuts, try it here.
NOTE:  If you use a combination that includes sugar, watch it more closely as it will burn more easily.