Recipe: Beef Bourguignonne from Williams-Sonoma

In order to use up the turnips we got from our share of the CSA, we made a modified version of the beef bourguignonne recipe from www.williams-sonoma.com. It was good. Probably would have been even better if we had indeed followed the recipe, but we did have a bit more turnips with a bit less meat/bacon/wine.

Beef Stew with Turnips (Beef Bourguignonne)
Turnips have a delicately sweet flavor when young, but as they mature they lose their sweetness and become woody. Therefore, it is best to buy them when they are at their peak, between November and February. The greens, which are edible, should be bright green and garden fresh. If unavailable, substitute Swiss chard, dandelion greens, beet greens or kale.

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
• 2 oz. bacon or pancetta, finely diced
• 3 lb. beef stew meat such as chuck roast or sirloin tip, cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 fresh flat-leaf parsley stems
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Côtes-du-Rhône
• 3 cups beef or veal broth
• 1 Tbs. tomato paste
• 4 turnips or 15 baby turnips, peeled and larger ones cut into wedges
• 1 bunch turnip greens, stems removed and leaves cut crosswise into strips
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a large, heavy pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions and bacon and sauté until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onions and bacon to a plate and set aside.

Working in batches, add the beef to the pot in a single layer; do not crowd the pot. Cook, uncovered, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. When all the meat is browned, return it to the pot, sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring, until the meat is evenly coated, about 1 minute. Return the onions and bacon to the pot and add the garlic. Using kitchen string, tie the parsley stems, thyme sprigs and bay leaves into a bundle and add to the pot as well.

Increase the heat to high, pour in the wine and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the pot bottom. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by one-fourth, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the broth and tomato paste and stir well. Increase the heat to high, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the meat is tender when pierced with a knife, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Remove the herb bundle and discard. Add the turnips, cover and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Add the turnip greens, cover and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the stew into warmed bowls and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration Series, Winter, by Joanne Weir (Time-Life Books, 1997).

Blueberries and porcupine quills

On Sunday, we went to Murphy Dome Road to pick some blueberries. Sonja does not like blueberries, though yesterday, she did try a raspberry for the first time this year! Last year, towards the end of the raspberry season, she decided to put one into her mouth, liked it, and that was the end of raspberries for Martin and me. This year, she didn't try a single one until yesterday, so we will see whether from now on she will eat them or not.

Anyways, blueberries were not a hit with Sonja. Instead of picking blueberries for herself, Sonja wanted to help us carry the containers around. In order to limit spill damage, we ended up asking her to first come to me, I would put a handful of blueberries I picked into the container she had in her hands, then she would go empty that into the main container. Then we would ask her to go to Martin, and get his handful of blueberries. Even though the distance between us was only a couple feet, it is still difficult for a toddler to navigate through or over blueberry bushes, so it kept Sonja busy.

Not so Saphira though - once she came jumping through and knocked Martin's container over. Another time Martin said she was eating the blueberries.

After an hour or so, as it got towards dinner time, Sonja got unhappy, so we went home. Since the dogs did not do that much runnig, we left them run next to the car. That was fine except for one spot, where they went into the bushes and didn't want to come back. We had to back up to them and do some more persuasion. Some calling eventually did get them back onto the road, and running next to the car again. After a bit, Mica got tired, so we let her go into the car. Saphira continued to run next to the car. Her mouth was open as she was trying to get air and stay cool. I noticed something by her mouth - three porcupine quills. So the dogs must have seen a porcupine back in the bushes. Surprisingly, Saphira had only three quills in her mouth - personally, I would have expected to see her mouth full of them. Perhaps she is a bit smarter than I thought! Mica did not have any, luckily.

We performed a small operation, with me holding Saphira's behind (while she stood over us in the front seats of the car) while Martin pulled the three quills out. And on we went.

These days, instead of having raspberries topped with ice cream topped with (unwhipped) heavy cream for dessert, we wave raspberries and blueberries with ice cream and cream. Mmmmmm. Good stuff.

Recipe: Pork with napa cabbage

We managed to get through most of the items we got from our share from Pearl Creek Farm last week, except for the napa cabbage and a few other things. I tried out a recipe I saw on Joelen's blog (she is on one of the web boards I sometimes visit). It is very good, we'll make it again, especially since I foresee more napa cabbage in our CSA share future.

Joelen's pork & napa cabbage stew:

1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 lbs pork, diced
1 cup soy sauce (is that a typo? I used 1/2 c)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
2 cups water
1 teaspoon: salt, garlic powder, onion powder. black pepper
1 small head of napa cabbage, sliced in ribbons
1 oz enoki mushrooms (these she used for garnish, I skipped them)

In a dutch oven, place about 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Heat dutch oven over medium heat.
Add sliced onions and garlic.
When onions have softened, add pork.
Add seasonings and stir, browning pork.
When pork has browned, add water and soy sauce.
Stir and add tomatoes.
Allow sauce to reduce to half.
Turn off heat and toss in napa cabbage.
Before serving, garnish with enoki mushrooms, with thick stems cut off.

Visitors to west ridge

Friday we ate lunch outside of the building where we work, and got to see a few people not typically seen there anymore: Dorte with Kasper (though they can often be seen on the trails next door, just typically not by the actual buildings of the university), and Ryan, visiting from Europe. Kasper enjoyed a carrot from our garden. Martin asked whether Kasper can walk, because he only seems to run. In the twenty minutes we chatted with those guys, Kasper ran the entire time. And unlike Sonja, he enjoyed the carrot.

Sonja's typical food is white, though she too can have fun with it.

More recipes: Blackened salmon ceasar salad

Tonight, we had a visit from potential housesitters for next year. Martin made one of the few last remaining pieces of salmon left from last year's dipnetting season in our freezer. For a relatively hot sumer day, he likes it relatively simple: grilled blackened salmon, over a simple ceasar salad. Unfortunately the grill conked out on us, so he just did it in a pan.

Here is the mixture used for blackening, gotten somewhere off the web a few years ago, plus the recipe for the ceasar dressing, gotten off sherisrecipes.blogspot.com a few months ago.

Cajun blackening powder
1 c paprika
2 1/2 Tbs cayenne pepper
2 Tbs each salt and garlic powder
1 1/2 Tbs each blackand white pepper
1 Tbs each oregano, thyme

Ceasar dressing
1/3 c mayo
2-3 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbs grated parmesan
1/4 tsp each worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper

Mix the above ingredients together, coat lettuce with the dressing, top with more grated parmesan, if desired.

Apricot cake and Cauliflower gratin

Two recipes that we made tonight, both favorites of ours that we have made numerous times before: Apricot cake that Martin's mom makes and that we really really like, and cauliflower gratin with feta cheese.

Apricot cake
Martin's mom's recipe. Can be made with plums or other fruit also. Yup, european units, one of these days I will figure out how many cups of flour and sugar that is.
Dough:
300 g flour
100 g sugar
2 eggs
130 g butter (I just use 1 stick)
some baking powder (may be 1 tsp?)
Mix all of the ingredients together into a dough. If it is too dry, add a tiny bit of milk. The dough should be relatively dry though, so that it can be rolled out easily. Split the dough into roughly 2/3 and 1/3. Roll out the larger piece and line a 10" (or so?) springform with it, including the sides. Roll out the smaller piece, which will be the top.
Filling:
some hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (may be 1/2-1c?)
1 kg (2 lbs) apricots, pitted, and cut into chunks
100g sugar
Put the chopped hazelnuts on the bottom, top with apricots, and poour the sugar over the fruit. Fit the top piece of dough on top, seal the sides. Make a few holes in the top to vent the steam. Brush an eggyolk over the top dough, so that it will get nice and golden while it bakes. Bake for 1 hour in 350F (I think) oven.

Cauliflower gratin with tomato and fresh sheep's milk cheese
from every night italian cookbook.

1 large head cauliflower
1/4 c chopped onion
3 Tbs butter
2 c canned tomatoes, chopped, with the juice
3/4 c grated parmesan
salt+pepper
6 oz sheep's milk cheese (feta)

• Boil the cauliflower, quartered, until tender, about 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, cook the onions in 2 Tbs of the butter until light caramel flower. Add the tomatoes, cook until the sauce no longer looks watery, 15-20 mins. Take off heat and stir in parmesan.
• Heat the oven to 375F.
• Drain the cauliflower and cut into bite-size pieces, and add to the tomato sauce.
• Layer half the cauliflower/tomato mixture into a baking dish, top with half the sheep cheese, cut into thin slices. Repeat with remaining cauliflower and cheese. Dot with last 1 Tbs butter.
• Bake about 15 mins until cheese melts. Serve hot or lukewarm.

Golden Days 2007: Parade and Red-Green River Regatta

This weekend we went to see the Golden Days Parade, and the Red Green River Regatta, both part of the Golden Days in Fairbanks. Neither Martin nor I have ever gone to either of these, but they are very nice family events.

For the most part, Sonja enjoyed the parade. She really didn't like the sound of the fire engines, the horn was a bit loud, and she got scared. Once those passed, she enjoyed looking at the cars and people. As noon approached, she did get tired, so we never ended up seeing the entire parade - we left to walk back to the car, and Sonja fell asleep on the way home.

Here are a few sights:



Today, we watched the start of the Red-Green River Regatta. The main rule is the following:
"Every vessel must contain at least ONE roll of duct tape in its construction."

The Regatta started downtown Fairbanks and continued onto AlaskaLand (aka Pioneer Park these days). It was a fun sight to behold. Sonja really enjoyed splashing in the river. (Check out the guy with the dog - the dog does have a comfy seat.)