Saut¨¦ed Beet Greens
Serves 3-4
1 bunch beet greens (3-4 beets)
1 slice of bacon, chopped
1 tbsp sugar
1 clove of garlic, minced
¼ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup chicken broth or water
Splash of apple cider vinegar
Soak greens in ice bath for 20 minutes then rinse under cold water. Cut away any large stems and chop greens into ½ inch size pieces. In large skillet, cook chopped bacon over medium heat until brown. Remove bacon and cool on a paper towel. Saut¨¦ onions and garlic with bacon fat for 5 minutes. Add sugar and chopped greens and saut¨¦ over high heat for another 2 minutes. Deglaze with chicken broth or water and add splash of cider vinegar. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with bacon bits tossed over saut¨¦ed greens.
Steamed Red Beets
Serves 3-4
1 bunch (3-4¡±) red beets
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp butter
Cut green tops and bottom root off beets and rinse under cold water. Peel and slice into 1/4 inch thick rings. Steam for 15-20 minutes then season with salt, pepper, and butter to taste.
Honey Roasted Red Beet Salad
Serves 4-6
1 bunch (3-4¡±) red beets
¼ cup honey
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 bunch garlic chives, minced
Cut green tops and bottom root off beets and rinse under cold water. Slice into 1 inch thick rings, unpeeled. Place into aluminum foil packet and coat beets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the garlic cloves and pour half of the honey over beets and seal the package, leaving room for steam to build up inside. Roast beets on grill or in oven for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Beets should be tender but not too soft. Once cooled, peels should easily come off beets. Use food processor to finely julienne and combine with balsamic vinegar, remainder of honey and garlic chives in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve cold.
Boiled Sweet Corn
Husk corn and remove silks. Drop corn into enough rapidly boiling water to cover the corn. Return to boiling and boil five to seven minutes.
Grilled Sweet Corn
Cut silk off top of corn and soak in cold water for 15-20 minutes. Drain the corn and lay on hot grill rack turning ¼ when husk just begins to blacken and repeat until all sides are done.
Maggie¡¯s Frozen Sweet Corn
4 ¨C Quarts of Corn, cut off the cob
1 ¨C Qt Water
1 ¨C Cup Sugar
4 ¨C Heaping teaspoons Salt
Bring to a full rolling boil and boil for 5 minutes. Cool on counter and pack corn and liquid into freezer bags or containers and freeze.
FYI ¨C 18 large ears of corn is about 4 quarts.
Onion Soup
Serves 6
6 Large yellow onions, thinly sliced
4 Tablespoons butter
1 Teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1 Cup dry white wine
4 Cups beef broth
1 Cup grated Swiss cheese
½ Cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a heavy pan, slowly brown the onions in butter and sugar until the onions are a dark brown, about 30 minutes, occasionally scraping the brown off the bottom of the pan while cooking. Add flour and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the white wine and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add broth and simmer slowly for 1 hour. To serve, sprinkle each serving with cheeses.
Onion Rings
1 jumbo onion
1 Cup flour
¼ Cup corn starch
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon sugar
1 Cup club soda OR beer
Cooking Oil
Slice the onion into ½¡± slices and separate into rings and set aside. In a flat bottom bowl, mix the dry ingredients with a whisk. Whisk the club soda OR beer into the dry ingredients. The batter should be the consistency of a thick pancake batter. You may use a little more or less liquid to achieve the desired consistency. In a heavy pan, pour enough oil to cover the bottom with 1¡± of oil (peanut oil works well) and heat the oil to 350 degrees. Drag the onion rings through the batter to completely coat the rings and drop them into the hot oil. Fry the rings until they are light golden brown, turning them if necessary. Drain the rings on several layers of paper towel.
Pinto Beans
Sort & rinse beans well. Pour boiling water over beans to cover by 4 inches and soak 1 hour. Drain, add fresh water & bring to a boil, simmering covered for 45 minutes or until tender. Beans can also be cooked in a crockpot being careful to add water as needed.
Refried Beans
Makes 2 cups
1 Cup of dried Pinto Beans
Water
2 Slices bacon, diced into ½¡± pieces
Sort and wash beans. In a pot, cover beans by 4¡± with boiling water and soak for 1 hour. Drain and cover with fresh water, bring to boil and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour until beans are very tender, occasionally adding water to keep the beans just covered with water. Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. While the beans are cooking, brown the bacon in a pan large enough to hold two cups of beans and set aside. In a food processor or blender, add ½ of the beans and ½ cup of the reserved liquid and process until smooth. Add enough liquid until the beans are the consistency of pancake batter. Repeat with remaining beans and pour the entire mixture into pan with bacon and drippings. Fry mixture until enough liquid has been cooked off and beans can be ¡°spooned¡±.
Sweet Baked Beans
1 cup dry beans (Jacob¡¯s cattle are best)
5-6 cups water
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
½ lb bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
½ cup local honey
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/3 cup water
Boil beans until slightly soft, about 35 minutes. Cook bacon in skillet until brown. Remove bacon and saut¨¦ onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add all ingredients into large Dutch oven pot and bake for 2.5 hours at 325 (Add enough bean broth to cover beans and mix in corn starch). Crumble reserved bacon and add at the end.