Soup Stock

This is my recipe for soup stock. I've tried different methods and this works the best for me.

1. Preparation.
As you are going about your regular cooking and eating schedule, instead of throwing various bits of vegetables and meat away, stick them in a ziploc bag or container of some kind. This is the stuff that you cut off of with the intention of not using them--the ends of celery and carrots, the stalks of fennel, the leaves and tails of beets, potato skins, leek greens, mushroom stems, onion skin, garlic skin, tops of tomatoes, pulp from making juice, bones, fatty bits of meat, and so forth. Stick all that stuff into a container and freeze it.

This is not to say that you can use everything that you don't eat. Check if ingredients are potentially poisonous, like rhubarb leaves. Use your best judgment.

You can also reserve the water used to boil/steam vegetables, which would normally be drained and dumped, to use as a base instead of using fresh water.

2. Making the stock. 
When you've decided to make the stock, pull out the container of scraps. Put some in a pot. Then fill it up with water. Put the pot over high heat. Add seasoning if desired.

When the water starts boiling, turn the heat to low. Let it simmer for a while, at least 10 minutes.

The longer you let it simmer, the darker and more flavorful the stock will be.

When you've decided it's done, turn off the heat and let the pot sit until it's cool enough to handle.

Use a colander over a large bowl to strain the stock. Throw away the vegetable scraps. Pour the stock into jars and store in the fridge. Freeze into ice cubes for more longevity.

3. Using the stock.
Use the stock as a base for soups and gravies, and for cooking rice or other grains. Use as the liquid for essentially any savory recipe.

Left: Water used to cook purple potatoes. Right: Purple potato water mixed with ham broth.

Sausage Gravy

1/2 pound ground pork sausage
3 Tbls. flour
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

In a skillet over medium-high heat, break the sausage into chunks. Cook, stirring, until it is all browned. Add a little of the vegetable stock if needed to keep it from sticking to the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir it all in. Then slowly pour in the vegetable stock and milk, stirring constantly. Let the gravy simmer to thicken.

When it is as thick as you want it, add the seasoned salt.

Serve with biscuits or potatoes.

Lime Honey Cake

Cake:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup lime juice
5 eggs
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line bottoms of 2 cake tins with parchment, and grease the sides of the tins.

In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and lime juice. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in each egg completely before adding the next one.

In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir 1/3 of the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Then stir in 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture, then flour again, buttermilk again, and flour again. Do not overmix.

Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness.

After removing from oven, let the cake rest in the pans for 15 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely.


Filling:
6 Tbls. cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. fresh, grated lime zest
1/4 cup honey

Beat together all filling ingredients until fluffy. Keep chilled until time to use.

When the cake is totally cooled, smooth the filling onto one of the cake layers. Place the other layer on top.


Frosting:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbls. water
1 tsp. fresh, grated lime zest
2 egg whites at room temperature

Mix the sugar, honey, water, and lime zest in a saucepan. Heat to a rolling boil over medium heat. Keep boiling until it reaches 242 F on a candy thermometer.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Pour the boiling syrup slowly in a thin stream into the egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed. Then beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake.

Crock Pot Refried Beans

3 cups dried beans (I used a mix of black, pinto, white, navy, and red)
9 cups water or broth
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp smoked salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Put the water and beans in a large crock pot, and cook on high heat for 4 hours, or until the beans are soft. Drain out the remaining water. Add the butter, salt, and pepper to the beans. Use an egg beater on medium speed to coarsely mash the beans.

White Gravy

Since I used whole wheat flour, it is not really white, but it's still good!

3 Tbls. butter
3 Tbls. flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. pepper (or to taste)

In a small pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. When that is mixed in smoothly, slowly stir in the milk. Use more milk to make it thinner if desired. Keep it on the heat to make it thicker, if desired.

For not white gravy, you can use vegetable stock or meat broth instead of milk.

Three-Meat Pie

Crust:
2 cups semola flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup cold water

Filling:
1/2 pound ground pork
1/3 pound ground chicken
1/3 pound ground lamb
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cup grated turnip
1/2 tsp. crushed garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. ground clove
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

For the crust: Stir together the semola flour, salt, rosemary, and dill weed. Cut the butter into small chunks, then cut it into the flour mixture until the mixture becomes a crumbly paste. Drizzle and stir in the water. Press it together to form a dough, then divide into 2 balls. Press each ball into a thick disk, wrap them in plastic wrap, and put in the fridge to chill.

Combine all the filling ingredients in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked, then remove from heat.

Bring out the crust dough. Lay out a large sheet of plastic wrap, put one unwrapped disk of dough on it, then cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. Roll out the dough to a thin, large circle, about 15" in diameter. Remove the top layer of plastic wrap, and turn the sheet of dough in to a 9" pie tin. Press the dough down into the corners.

Roll out the second disk of dough in the same manner, but keep it sandwiched between the plastic wrap. Put them back in the fridge to chill.

 Preheat oven to 400 F.

When the filling has cooled enough to handle, bring out the pie crust and spoon the filling inside. Use a slotted spoon to avoid putting the cooking liquid into the pie. Place the second sheet of dough on top. Trim around the sides of the tin, press the top and bottom crusts together around the edges. Cut slashes in the top crust. Use any leftover dough to make small decorations.

Bake for 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Whole Wheat Flax Bread

Bake rolls at 375° F for 20-25 minutes

The flax seed doesn't affect the taste or texture, it's just there to be healthy.

2 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 cups warm water
4 cups flour
1 Tbls. salt
1/3 cup ground flax seed

Dissolve the yeast and sugar into 3/4 cup of warm water.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and flax seed. When the yeast is foaming on the water, add that to the flour, as well as the rest of the water. Stir it together, then turn out onto the counter to knead it. Use flour if necessary. Knead it thoroughly, until the dough stretches rather than tears when it is pulled.

Coat the inside of the bowl and the dough with oil. Put the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.

Knead the dough a bit, and shape into a log. Oil the inside of the bread pan and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

Spray the inside of the cold oven with water and place the bread pan in the center of the oven. Turn the oven to 350 F. Bake for 40-45 minutes (including pre-heating time), until the crust is a deep golden brown on top, and golden brown on the sides and bottom.

Apple Chutney

4 cups apples, diced to 1/2" pieces with the cored removed
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 Tbls. apple cider
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. mustard seed
1/8 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. saffron powder
3/4 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it is boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 50-60 minutes, until the liquid is reduced to a small amount of thick syrup. Remove from heat and let cool completely so that it can continue to thicken.

Potato, Onion, and Cheese Pasties

double batch of pie crust dough
2 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup half-and-half, or milk
1/2 cup ground mustard seed
1 1/2 cup grated or cubed cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
beaten egg and milk to glaze the crusts

Bring water to boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the potato and onion. Cover the pan and boil until the potatoes are soft (this timing depends on how small the pieces are). Remove from heat, strain away the water, and put the potatoes and onions in a large bowl.

Add the half-and-half to the bowl. Mash everything until the potatoes are smooth. Stir in the mustard, salt, pepper, and cheese.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Make small balls of pastry dough and roll them out to small circles, about 5"-6" wide. Put a spoonful of filling onto each circle, wet the edges of the crust with water, then fold them in half, pinching the edges together. You should be able to make 8 pasties.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Glaze the top with a mixture of beaten egg and a bit of milk. (I forgot this step, so my pasties were pale.) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crusts are golden brown.

Carrot Turnip Farls

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup grated turnip
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat a skillet over medium-low heat.

Stir together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the grated vegetables until they are well mixed and coated in the flour. Stir the buttermilk in to make a dough.

On a floured surface, quickly knead the dough to make it coherent. Divide into 2 pieces and roll each piece into a circle about 1/2" thick. Cut into quarters. Cook the pieces for 6-8 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Florida Pie

3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbls arrowroot powder
1 1/2 cups orange juice
3 egg yolks
2 large oranges, or 6 clementines or tangerines
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 deep-dish, 9" pie crust, baked

Meringue:
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar

Grate the peel of an orange to get 1 Tbls of orange zest (only the very outer layer of the peel, no white pith). Then peel the oranges, discard the peel, seeds, and as much pith as possible, and puree the oranges and orange zest in a blender. Chop the butter into small cubes. In a bowl, combine the orange puree, butter, and lemon juice.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg yolks until smooth. Place the egg whites somewhere warm.

In a large pot, stir together the arrowroot and sugar. Stir in the orange juice. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low. 

Pour a small amount of hot filling into the egg yolks, stirring as you pour. Then pour the yolk mixture back into the pan, stirring constantly as you pour.

Remove from heat. Stir in the pureed orange mixture. Pour into pie crust.

In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread evenly over hot filling, sealing edges to crust.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Let cool in the fridge until completely chilled before serving. The longer it has time to chill, the more solid the filling becomes.

Almond Scones

3 cups almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbls honey or maple syrup
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 300° F.

Stir together the almond meal, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter as small as it will go, then stir in the honey/maple syrup and eggs, forming a soft, sticky dough.

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Form small balls with the dough, then press them into disks on the baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown.

Crusty Country Pasties

Crust:
1 cup whole wheat flour
6 Tbls. butter
1/4 cup cold water
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp ground mustard seed

Filling:
1/2 cup diced potato
1/2 cup minced carrots
1/2 cup minced celery
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup chopped green beans
2 Tbls. oil
1 Tbls. flour
1 Tbls. butter
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable stock

Crust: Stir together the flour, salt, pepper, basil, and ground mustard. Cut in the butter until the flour is all moistened, but leave some larger chunks of butter. Stir in the water to make a soft dough. Press the dough together, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill while making the filling.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, sautee the vegetables with the oil for 3 minutes. Mix together the flour, rosemary, fennel, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low, push the vegetables to one side, and melt the butter on the other side. When it is melted, stir the flour mixture into the butter, then stir everything together. Add the vegetable stock and keep stirring as a gravy forms. Then remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Divide the crust dough into 4 parts. Roll each section into a thin circle. Get the outline of the circles wet with water or beaten egg. Put 1/2 cup of filling onto each crust piece, and fold the crust over the filling, pinching together the edges to seal it closed.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the pasties on without touching each other. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the crusts are golden brown.

Pety Pernauntes

Period: England, 1300s-1400s
Sources: Medieval Cookery

Crust:
1 cup semola flour
1 Tbls. sugar
1 tiny pinch of saffron
1/8 tsp. salt
6 Tbls. butter
1/4 cup water

Filling:
6 egg yolks
1 Tbls. water
1/2 tsp. gelatin
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/4 cup minced dates
1/4 cup minced raisins, dried currant berries, or similar

For the crust: Stir together the flour, sugar, saffron, and salt. Cut in the butter until it creates moist crumbs, leaving some small chunks of butter. Stir in the water, forming a dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge while making the filling.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Dissolve the gelatin in the water. Beat together the egg yolks, gelatin, sugar, and powdered ginger until the mixture is very light, as light as you can reasonably get it. Then stir in the dates and raisins.

Divide the crust dough into 12 pieces, 6 of them slightly smaller than the others. Roll the larger balls out into circles and line 6 cups in a mini tart pan. Put about 2 Tbls. of filling into each cup--there will be a little extra, so divide it evenly. Then roll the smaller balls of dough to make top crusts. Leave a little bit of space, if you can, between the filling and the top crust.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.