Tamale Pie

I'm always wary of vegetarian recipes. Even though I used to be vegetarian as a teenager, I now enjoy and actually like eating meat. I don't mind eating vegetables, in fact I sometimes like it. But I have this weird texture issue that gets in the way. We had stuffed zucchini a week or two ago and eating it made me want to gag! The flavor was nice, but there was just something about the texture. I don't know. It's weird. And especially frustrating when I'm making the effort to eat more vegetables.

I am also trying to make use of my bounty of cookbooks and saved magazine recipes by incorporating new recipes into every two-week menu I put together. Last night I tried a new recipe for Tamale Pie from one of my cookbooks A World of Wisdom. It was completely vegetarian, so I was a little concerned. My concern was a waste of energy, because it was freaking awesome! I couldn't stop thinking about it after dinner and I woke up being tempted to eat it for breakfast, it was that good. Haha!

So, of course I had to share the recipe. I added carrot and zucchini (because I have a lot from my garden!), but overall, I followed the recipe and was very happy with the results. I think the key is that the veggies are chopped up. Big chunks of veg just don't appeal to me. I am just so weird.

Tamale Pie

2 cups cooked preferred bean (I used black bean. It's my #1 fave!)
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped tomato
1/4 cup shredded zucchini (about half of a smallish-medium one)
1 shredded carrot
1/4 cup diced black olives
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder (more if you like it spicier)
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 recipe of your favorite cornbread (The recipe should only fill one 8"x 8" or 9" round pan. I had to be specific because I have a recipe that fills a 9"x13" pan.)

Simmer beans, vegetables, and seasoning with a little liquid for 10 minutes in a skillet. Stir in half the cheese. Prepare the cornbread and pour half the batter into a greased 10-inch pie plate (deep dish) or 8-inch square dish and spread over the bottom. Add bean mixture on top, scooping it up with a slotted spoon to let any extra moisture drip out. (We don't want a soggy pie!). Top with remaining cornbread batter and spread out over the top the best you can. Bake at 425º F for 15 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and bake 10 minutes longer.*

*I didn't read this part of the recipe and just put the cheese on top at the beginning. I baked it for 15 minutes and it was done! And a huge bonus was that the cheese was all nice and brown and crusty on top. Mmmm! If you don't like it that way, follow the above directions and totally ignore the way I did it!

No garnish necessary. Just dig in and enjoy! And loosen your belt a little. You may go for seconds... or thirds....

A New Look

I was in need of a fresh, new look for summer. I just love the greenness of nature, especially out here in Maryland. Yay!

Homemade Ice Cream & Fruit Sorbet Recipe

Last year we bought one of those gel canister ice cream makers and have really loved it! Since we started experiencing that horrible heat wave, that gel canister is pretty much in the freezer all the time - just in case I want/need to make ice cream. (haha!) I just love the idea of throwing a few ingredients together (no junk like preservatives, dyes, fake flavors, or corn syrup!) and half an hour later we've got amazing homemade ice cream!

Last week I made this awesome vanilla mint Oreo (alas corn syrup!) ice cream. Oh MAN! Was that stuff delicious! For the peppermint I used 100% pure essential oil* and that was so refreshing - I could feel the mint cooling all the way down to my stomach. Aaah!

Okay, enough about that. Yesterday I made an apricot ginger sorbet that was absolutely delightful! I thought I'd share the recipe for a general fruit sorbet, because it has 4 ingredients and is so easy to make. If you don't have an ice cream maker yet, I'd strongly suggest you get one! (We have a Crofton brand and have been happy with it.)

Fruit Sorbet
(adapted from Nourished Kitchen blog)

2 lbs. fruit, such as strawberries, apricots, peaches, cherries, pineapples etc. halved & pitted or prepared appropriately (in other wise, ready to eat)
1/2 cup honey
3 cups water
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the fruit and honey and simmer until the fruit is tender. Transfer to a container and chill in the fridge until cold. (I did mine overnight.)

Transfer the fruit and liquid to a blender or food processor, add vanilla, and blend until smooth

Transfer to the ice cream maker and freeze according to the directions.

If you want a more solid sorbet, pour the soft-serve sorbet into a container and freeze until it's the hardness you want for scooping.

Enjoy any time of day, because really, it's just fruit!

The possibilities are endless! I can't wait to try a strawberry/mint sorbet. And I have cherries in my fridge right now. Ooooh, cherry sorbet! Mmmm!!!!

*Not all essential oils are consumable. Make sure the bottle does not say "For topical use only". I use doTerra oils which are 100% pure and are able to be ingested and used in cooking. 

Keeping Busy

Yesterday the weather was glorious! There was a warm sun with a cool breeze - my favorite kind of weather. My kids and I went blueberry and plum picking at Larriland Farms which is now only 4 miles down the road! I almost went crazy and wanted to pick raspberries, but it was nearly lunch time and my daughter needed her nap, so I gave up that idea. It's hard work picking fruit! (and supervising children picking fruit. haha!)

The rest of the day was pretty much spent outside. We had a couple TV breaks for a rest, (My kids are only allowed to watch stuff on Tuesday or Thursday.) but for the most part my son busily dug up bricks, and I moved the compost pile, dug up more iris roots, weeded, and in general spiffed up the place. It was awesome to work outside all day! That's my kind of exercise. Yeah!

About a week or so ago, our family picked out a spot and dug a fire pit. We've had a few marshmallow roasting events already and there's another one scheduled tonight with a bunch of gals from church for a "girl's night out". I'm really excited! What I'm most excited about is that we were able to pick out the spot for our fire pit and just start digging! No permission necessary from anyone. I LOVE that about owning our own home.

Oh, you know what I discovered the other day? Our neighbor has the biggest, most beautiful OAK tree! Man, I've got the Knotty Oak Homestead, but we have no oak trees at all. Just pines and maples and a walnut tree. Even the giant fallen oak in our woods came from our neighbor's property and crushed our fence. But I took a picture of our neighbor's tree just to pacify myself. It really is very magnificent to look at.

Grass-Fed Beef?

We have a local Angus beef cattle farm down the road from us. Initially, I was really excited about this, especially as they advertise that their beef is grass-fed. Now, I've seen their cattle out in the pasture munching away on grass, but I wanted to know if they fed their cows corn at any point in their life. So, I drove over there and asked. 

Why did I want to know this? Because cows are ruminating animals, are only meant to eat grass, and I find it really sad that most cows are fed a diet of corn because it's cheaper (Seen a corn field lately? There's a lot of them around here.), and they fatten up faster on corn. Do the cattle-raisers care about the health of the cows and what corn does to their digestive track? How about the nutritional value of their beef? NOPE.

Anyway, I went and asked the local farm if they fed their cows corn at all, and I found out something very interesting. I was told that while the cattle are raised on grass, they are finished on a combination of corn, grain, hay, and minerals. So, while they live a grass-fed life, they are not true grass fed cows because they're fattened up or "finished" on corn and grain. 

Currently, there are no USDA regulations on the definition of "grass-fed beef", so beef producers can get away with a lot and mislead consumers on whether or not they're really getting true grass-fed beef. Considering that grass-fed beef is significantly more expensive that corn-fed beef, it's no wonder! And what do you think of when you think of a grass-fed cow? A happy cow in a beautiful green pasture? Well, technically a farmer could confine his cow and feed it grass its whole life and still call it a grass-fed cow. I know government food regulations get a bad wrap a lot of the time, but there are times when its necessary, so that consumers know exactly what they're getting when they buy a food.

I found this very informative article on the true definition of grass-fed beef according to grass-fed-beef-101.com

If you have thought about switching to grass-fed beef or currently buy it and aren't sure if it's up to scratch, then this article will prove very helpful!

Eat Wild is also a fantastic resource for finding locally raised foods. They have a strict criteria for farms in order to be listed on their site.

In the meantime, my search is on for grass-fed, grass-finished beef!

The Homemade Pantry

When I saw this book, I knew it was written just for me! It really pacifies the "made from scratch" side of me and answers all sorts of curiosities about what we can stop buying and start making ourselves. I also like that  the author is not afraid to say she buys her butter because it is cheaper to buy it than to make it, especially if you don't have a milk cow. (Finally, someone admits it!) I haven't read the entire book, just skimmed the preview on Amazon, but it's at the top of my priority list! Why can't I stop buying cookbooks?!?!? Aaaaack! I think this one is worth it though.

The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making

PIGS

Okay, so I don't even have my chickens yet. I think we're waiting until the spring. (It's so hard taking one step at a time when you finally have your house and land!) Anyway, today I was talking with my husband about how I wanted to use our 1/2 acre woods to keep a couple pigs. After we chatted about it, he was totally on board! Whoa! I wasn't expecting that, but I am so excited that he is so supportive. We talked about fencing we'd need and where we'd put the fence. Ever since reading this article in Mother Earth News about raising pastured pigs and how amazing their meat tastes, I have dreamed of raising my own pigs. I'd like to raise a heritage breed like Tamworth, but I have no clue what's available out here or if I'd be able to find many heritage breeds. That means there's more research to do! We're not getting pigs any time soon; maybe within the next couple years, but it's exciting to plan out the use of our land. My husband doesn't know it yet, but there are also bees in the future.... mwahahahaha! But still. It's one step at a time. There's so much to do!

Mmmm! Bacon!