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This time of year when the weather gets chilly and we put away our grill , out comes my clay pot.  I swear by this method of cooking as the easiest, most incredibly delicious way to make so many things.  Clay pots have been around in many varieties since at least Roman times and can still be found in Chinese, Moroccan, S. American kitchens and here in the good old USA for those of us who know how to use them.  There is no finer way to roast a chicken or turkey with no fat, or basting.  The natural gravy created in this pot , with the simple use of vegetables, poultry and broth is not to be believed. 

Today I will share my applesauce since I know everyone has been going apple picking on these beautiful fall days.  It is simple and delicious.  I make mine in my smaller clay pot usually with a larger one by its side cooking up a roast chicken or turkey breast.

6-8 Organic Gala or similar apples (whatever you like can be a combo of Mac , McCoun or any traditional recipe you might have)
1 cup of apple cider
a handful of sun dried cranberries
Sprinkle of cinnamon


Soak the clay pot in cold water for 15 minutes in the sink.  Cut the apples in half.

Add the apples to the pot, like in the picture.  Add all the ingredients and cover.

Turn the oven to 400.  Put the pot in the oven.  Cook about 20 minutes to a 1/2 hour until you smell the fragrance of cinnamon and apple.

Carefully open the pot away from your face with 2 big oven mitts and the apples should be tender and sizzling.  You can take the pot , covered out of the oven and place on top of the stove to do this.

Get out a bowl and your potato ricer.  The ricer will do all the work.  It will seed and peel for you after they are cooked so you don't have to bother with this step before.  Just do a little at a time like in the picture.

Enjoy!

Just got back from a weekend in the mountains of NYS.  Weather is cooling off and it looks like the farmers are tending to the last of their harvest.  Get those homegrown tomatoes and corn before it's too late!  Here I am at a local farmstand buying my local organic greens to incorporate into my soups and stew this week. 

This dish is a Freebird chicken stew with whole grains, kale, green beans, mushrooms, herbs.  Braised with white wine and chicken broth and topped with almonds for crunch.

Recipe:

1 pound Freebird or similar no antibiotic , free range boneless chicken thighs
1/2 sweet onion-vidalia or similar
2 cloves crushed chopped garlic
1-2 organic carrots sliced
1/2 box white mushrooms sliced
small bunch of cleaned and trimmed organic kale-chopped small
1/2 pound or so of green beans
1-2 teaspoons  'Herbs du Provence'
A mix of whole grains of your choice cooked separately in a small saucepan
A cup or less of low sodium organic chicken broth
1/2 cup of dry white wine.
Dusting of flour.
Cut up some green and yellow squash and tomato
About a tablespoon of aged balsamic vinegar
A handful of slivered almonds

1.  Cut thighs into small pieces, into a paper plate dust them on both sides with a light coating of flour

2.  Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin o.o. to a saute /stew pan (wide , not too deep pot).
To the pan infuse oil with a sprig or 2 of fresh thyme if you have, then take out after a few minutes.  

3.  Saute the chicken with the herbs du provence in the oil until lightly browned on both sides, turning after a few minutes.  When you see it's lightly brown, add the onions, garlic, carrots and slowly add the broth and wine and bring to a simmer.  Cover the pot and turn the heat to medium low.   Add a splash of a great aged balsamic vinegar .  Let this cook gently or 'braise' about 10 minutes.  Add the squash and tomatoes and stir in.  This cooks quickly , like a few minutes.

4.  Add a spring of rosemary to the pot.  Later remove all herb sprigs. The rosemary and thyme are optional.

5.  In separate small saucepan make the grain of choice, this usually takes about 20 minutes, the same amount of time it takes to make this dish approx.  So start this on the stove right before you do the stew.  I cook my grains with either veggie or chicken broth (low salt organic) for flavor.  After simmering for about 10 minutes I throw in the rest of the veggies to this pot. And add the almonds. The kale got stirred in along with the string beans.  Cook another 10 minutes covered on low till grains absorb the liquid and are done.  I don't use butter but I will stir in a bit of evoo.

Serve.  This will feed 2 or more.

Mangia!

It's a cloudy, rainy and cool day in NJ.  Went to the Ramsey Farmers Market and gathered up some great veggies from our local farmers to make soup.  Here's what I got, and here's what I did.

SUNSHINE VEGGIE SOUP

Ingredients:  1-2 tbls organic extra virgin olive oil
                      Chopped fresh thyme
                       Organic carrots, leek, kale, celery,  garlic, green beans, corn, kale, yellow and green squash, plum tomatoes, thyme, basil leaves.

Rinse everything well with cold water.  Split leeks and take off dark green outside layer and tops.   Chop the veggies like above.

Into a soup kettel add 2 tbls organic evoo and 1-2 tbls.  fresh chopped thyme, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Saute in the heated oil  the chopped garlic, leek, celery and carrots.  Cook this about 3 minutes before adding the longer cooking vegetables.  First throw in the butternut squash, the chopped green beans, and the kale.  Add water or vegetable broth (a organic bouillon cube optional).  Add enough water to almost reach the top of the pot but not too much, so it doesn't boil over.
Soup should be simmering, add the rest of the vegetables, and stir in the basil and some parsely.



Let it simmer about 20 minutes, till the green beans and bn squash are tender.

Serve with rice, pasta, farro , barley, white or red beans or anything you like cooked in a separate pot.  Can also add cheese to melt, like on top onion soup, just a little goes a long way.  Great with some gruyere or parmesan reggiano, a splash of some great aged balsamic can be added too.

http://www.laurileeshealthycooking.net/october_2011_recipe_of_the_month\


Check out my lightened up meatless recipe for Italian Wedding soup with farro

Roasted Organic Golden Beets with Sundried Cranberries and Basil Vinagrette

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I love the organic golden beets.  They're relatively simple to make, I roast them like potatoes till soft, then peel off skins and slice. Then I make a simple basil , balsamic vinagrette to drizzle on top. So good and great for you.

Serves Four

• 1 bunch Golden beets
• pinches kosher salt
• pinches black pepper
• 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar, plus extra for drizzling
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons sun dried cranberries
• 1 teaspoon pure honey
• shots fresh orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 375. Split the beets in half and take off stems. Into a deep roasting dish, lay out beets, drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic, salt and pepper. Mix together and add about an inch of water to the bottom of pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
2. Roast till you can stick with a knife and they are tender approximately 30 minutes, turning once half way through cooking time.
3. When they are soft, remove from pan to a dish. With a dishtowel, remove the skins once they cool down a bit. This shouldn't be difficult. Then slice and put on platter.
4. Starting with the 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar in a bowl, drizzle in the 3 tbsp olive oil and whisk in the basil. Add a teaspoon of pure honey.
5. Drizzle the vinagrette over the beets add the cranberries and serve with salt and pepper to taste, can add some extra sprigs of basil and a squeeze of fresh orange juic

People are constantly asking me for my recipes.  The truth is, I don't really cook with recipes.  Everytime I make something, I do it differently as you can probably see from my pictures.  For instance , today I had no idea what to make for dinner.  About 4 pm I headed to my fave fish store to see what looked good.  I wanted those sweet scallops from Cape May, and decided on combining them with some large shrimp (they were nice enough) to clean them for me.  So, when the girl asked me what I was making, I really had no idea.
On the way home I stopped at our local farm for some local strawberrys and basil.  I had already been to one farm and bought about 2 tons of butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash for 59 cents a pound which is so reasonable.  I do this every year and store them in my garage, my daughter loves winter squash and I make tons of soups, stews, and sides with them.  Works for us.  So, I'm at the next farm and i see they have a bucket of lavender long eggplants for 3 bucks, got some yellow and white corn and a combo of their grape and cherry tomatoes.  Ok, still had no idea what i was making.

Come home to hub who reminds me we have a bottle of prosecco if I would make risotto.  Ok, perfect idea, I love making risotto, especially with a glass of wine, my kind of fun.  20 minutes and it's ready.  I knew I had chicken broth leftover from yesterday so perfect.  I decided on a green risotto with seared shrimp and scallops.
I made the fish simply in a cast iron skillet , with just a sprinkle of Old Bay and dusted them lightly in Wondra.  Oiled the pan lightly , made it real hot and seared the scallops on one side till brown and caramalized , then did the same to the other.  Took them off, put in the shrimp , seared them about 2 minutes on each side.  Done.  Squeezed lemon on them.

For the risotto.  Took out my Le Crueset heavy sauce pot and began the process .  You will need a big wooden stirring spoon for this.  I have my fave risotto pot and spoon for stirring.  Also good to have a ladle for adding the broth.

1/2 sweet onion -chopped
Tomatoes-a colorful variety of grape and cherry's cut up
2 cloves garlic smashed and chopped
3 handfuls or so of baby organic spinach combined with parsley  and basil into my mini food processor-whiz till pureed
2 ears of corn-cooked and strip off the kernels

3 cups of chicken broth-I simmered in a small pot on the back of the stove
1 cup of prosecco got added slowly but surely

1 cup arborio rice
1 -2 tbls extra virgin o.o.

1.  Saute onion in evoo along with some chopped fresh thyme for about 3 minutes
2.  Add rice stirring for about 2 minutes
3.  Stir in about 1 cup of broth, stirring gradually until liquid is absorbed, when it gets too dry continue to add broth or prosecco or a bit of both.
After 10 minutes stir in the green stuff, then add the cooked corn that you took off the cobs, and add the chopped tomatoes.  

4.  Keep on stirring , sipping, and adding broth and wine to the rice till liquid is absorbed   Keep this going for 20 minutes, then it should be done.

Note:  I used absolutely no butter or cream.  There was no need for it.  This risotto had so many layers of flavor and it was just wonderful.  A combination of creaminess, sweetness from the herbs, tomatoes and prosecco and crunch from the corn.  A small portion is not really that caloric.  This recipe serves 4.